Tim Bradley says Edgar Berlanga’s recent post about wanting to fight Anthony Joshua at heavyweight was a business move to keep making big money brought in for his title challenge against unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on September 14.
Although Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs) lost by a lopsided 12-round unanimous decision, Bradley says he performed better than expected. With this performance, Bradley (27) can be positioned by his management for another big money fight.
Bradley says Berlanga’s comment about wanting to move up to 210 pounds and face Joshua is to get a $20 million payday. He says Berlanga’s mindset is that he made millions for the Canelo fight.
He wants to keep making that kind of money, and the only way he can do that is by fighting someone who’s really popular. However, Bradley says that Berlanga needs to focus on fighters at 168, and he feels he has a good chance to beat these fighters:
– Jaime Munguia
– Christian Mbilli
– Caleb Plant
Berlanga turned his nose up about a fight against Plant, and he doesn’t mention wanting to fight Mbilli or Diego Pacheco. The only one of those three Berlanga interested in fighting is Munguia, and he says it’s because he thinks the match will bring in a lot of PPV buys.
“I thought Berlanga handled himself very well for a fighter who never fought at that level,” said Tim Bradley Battle hypetalking about Edgar Berlanga’s performance against Canelo Alvarez on September 14th. “He did better than anyone expected, and Berlanga should learn from this.”
I watched the Canelo-Berlanga fight, and it seemed to me that Berlanga just played it safe, covering, jabbing, holding and using rough tactics.
Berlanga fought exactly like a sparring partner would by boxing up, not throwing punches, and just trying to survive. When a guy is fighting to survive against a much smaller, older fighter, they often can. Berlanga didn’t put in that kind of performance that suggests he will beat Munguia, Mbilli, Pacheco or Plant. He can’t make good money fighting like the 22 guys he built his resume with.
“He showed he’s a real fighter at 168 pounds,” Bradley said of Berlanga. “It was enough competition to satisfy my thirst for boxing. His manager put him in that spot, and we felt he didn’t deserve that spot to fight Canelo. But he was in the right place at the right time, and he got it, and he overachieved.”
The Formula To Position A Fighter Into A Big Payday
- Fight only weak opposition: Avoid quality fighters
- Compete 25 lbs below your natural weight: If your natural weight is 193 lbs, drop down to 168 for a massive size advantage.
- Adopt Villain Persona: Brag yourself to become a hated villain.
- Rinse and repeat after losing.
“So, now it’s like, ‘Damn, I just made a move $10 million. How can I position myself to make $20 million?’ So, now he’s trying to be a businessman,” Bradley said, responding to Berlanga saying he wants to fight Anthony Joshua or Daniel Dubois next. “He says, ‘How can I position myself to get it now?’ It sounds crazy, but when you make $10 (million), you want to make $20 (million). “
Berlanga obviously won’t get the Joshua or Daniel Dubois fights, but he’ll have to figure out what he plans to do at 168. If the only guy Berlanga wants is Munguia, he could sit idle for a long period of time. Even if Berlanga does get that fight, what does he do if he loses? Those paydays are going to dry up.
“It’s a business after all, but of course, Berlanga, there are other fish to fry at 168. He can make some serious money. The PPV numbers are huge. He can contribute to that. It wasn’t all Canelo. He contributed. He sold the fight, and I think he gave the fans a reason to want to see him fight again. He showed a lot of heart, and if you show it to the fans, the fans are with you,” Bradley said.
