As first reported by Jake Donovan of BoxingScene , Berlanga is currently fielding multiple offers as he navigates free agency, putting him in a position to be selective rather than reactive. That reality makes a fight with Adames unlikely, no matter how clean the callout might sound on paper.
The primary obstacle to this game is the skewed risk-to-reward ratio. Adames is a technically sound, heavy-handed fighter who rarely finds himself on an easy night. For Berlanga, waging this battle presents several problems.
Someone who can beat you decisively, but won’t necessarily double your career earnings in the process. Until Adames builds more of a promotional footprint at 168, or a sanctioning body enforces the issue, he may find the top names in the division suddenly very difficult to reach.
Adames (25-1-1, 18 KOs) is coming off a 12-round decision win over Austin Williams and has indicated he is ready to leave 160 behind after running out of viable unification options. He has the style and toughness to bother opponents at 168, but that’s also the issue. He brings risk without bringing huge commercial upside.
The Adames move is a classic “forced hand.” He dominated Austin Williams just last week and clearly realizes staying at 160 is a dead end. He has already fought to a draw with Hamzah Sheeraz, and with unification a nightmare to coordinate, the jump to 168 is his only path to a massive payday.
Here’s the breakdown of why this situation is such a stalemate:
Adames is in that dangerous position where he is too good for his own good. He has the power to end Berlanga’s night early and the chin to walk through Berlanga’s best shots. However, outside of hardcore boxing circles, he doesn’t bring the massive pay-per-view numbers that would make a fighter like Berlanga ignore the risks. He is essentially asking Berlanga to put his entire career on the line for a “respect” victory.
The timing of this call-up is especially problematic because of Berlanga’s free agency. The rumors linking him to Zuffa Boxing are getting louder by the day. If he’s about to become one of the faces of a new, UFC-style league, the last thing his new handlers want is for him to be derailed by a Dominican powerhouse before the ink on the contract is even dry.
Berlanga did not respond because in his mind there is no “winning” here. If he wins, people will say Adames was too small and moved up in weight. If he loses, his status as a “top-tier” draw is essentially over after three consecutive big-stage setbacks (Canelo, Sheeraz, and then Adames).
Adames is doing the right thing for his career by being vocal, but without mandatory status from the WBC at 168, he has no leverage to force Berlanga into the ring. Unless a major promoter or a website like Riyadh Season decides that this is the “people’s main event” and throws an undeniable amount of money at it, Berlanga will probably keep his eyes on more “marketable” names like Chris Eubank Jr. or hold a rebuilding fight under a new promotional banner.
