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Monday, December 23, 2024

Edgar Berlanga’s next fight could be in Puerto Rico


Promoter Eddie Hearn says Edgar Berlanga could return in February for a fight in New York or his father’s home country of Puerto Rico. Hearn pointed out that Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs) has made an adjustment to get him back on his winning ways after losing to unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez last Saturday.

Berlanga may have other plans. He said in an interview last Saturday that he wants to fight for the IBF super middleweight title next year and then face Canelo for the undisputed championship next year.

IBF’s rehydration limit

If Berlanga goes through with this plan, he will face the winner of the William Scull vs. Vladimir Shishkin fight for the IBF title is coming.

The one obstacle for Berlanga, 27, is the IBF’s 10-lb rehydration limit. Berlanga apparently rehydrated after 193 pounds last Saturday night for his fight against Canelo.

If Berlanga wants to fight for the IBF belt, he will need to keep his weight overnight after the weigh-in to be within the 10-lb limit of 178 lbs. Obviously, it’s not going to work for Berlanga if he’s going to rehydrate to the 190s. It will be very difficult for Berlanga to make weight for the IBF’s secondary weigh-in on the morning of the fight.

Berlanga should forget about trying to win the IBF title because if he could make weight for that fight, it doesn’t guarantee he would win or that Canelo would be interested in a rematch. Hearn has not mentioned that he wants Berlanga to fight for the IBF title.

Hearn’s plan appears to be focused on Berlanga taking a tune-up in February and then facing one of these four names:

  • Jaime Munguia
  • Caleb Plant
  • Jermall Charlo
  • Diego Pacheco

Of those names, Berlanga would probably be more interested in fighting Munguia because he is probably more popular than the others. Jermall used to be a top fighter but let his career slide by being inactive.

Former IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant has a poor 2-2 record in his last four fights and looked mediocre last Saturday night as he suffered multiple drops and injuries in his fight against fringe contender Trevor McCumby.

“Come back, fight well at 168, and then all those names are available: Munguia, Plant, Pacheco, Charlo.,” Hearn told IFLTV of his plans for Berlanga in 2025.

Berlanga needs the old formula

If Hearn wants to get the most mileage out of Berlanga’s career to rebuild him as a marketing product to make money, he shouldn’t match him up against Pacheco, Charlo, Plant or Munguia. Berlanga will likely lose to all four of those fighters, and the money he brings in for his fights will dry up overnight.

Hearn needs to go back to the formula that got Berlanga this far by matching him against sub-level ham & eggers and push him up for another cash out type fight. Even with Berlanga’s massive 190+ cruiserweight size, he will likely lose to the four fighters Hearn wants to fight. Berlanga is not good enough to beat those type of fighters.

Since Berlanga seemed to lose every round of his fight against Canelo, it would be bizarre to frame his next fight in Puerto Rico as if he had a win.

It would make more sense for Berlanga to return home to New York, where he was born and raised, rather than fight in his parent’s home country of Puerto Rico and treat his one-sided loss to Canelo as a false victory. treat. That would be weird.



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