Edgar Berlanga sees his fight against superstar Canelo Alvarez as his time to take over the 168-lb division 10 days from now on September 14 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Berlanga’s backdoor route to the title shot
Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) admits that fans have put a question mark over his head, doubting him because of the backdoor route he took to get this title.
Top Rank tried to develop Berlanga because he was terribly flawed, but he suddenly left them because he wanted to move faster with his career.
So instead of getting all of Berlanga’s leather fights, his promoter, Eddie Hearn, fed him two British tomato cans, Jason Quigley and Padraig McCrory. Now Berlanga gets the title shot against Canelo, which he is not ready for, and the outcome is clear.
If boxing were better regulated, Berlanga would have to fight his way to a title shot by running through these killers:
–David Morrell
– Christian Mbilli
– Caleb Plant
– David Benavidez
– Osleys Iglesias
– Jaime Munguia
If Berlanga could beat all those fighters, he would deserve a fight against Canelo. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and Berlanga gets the fight against Canelo following his wins over British fighters Quigley and McCrory.
Money over merit
It’s kind of sad because the fans who will pay up $89.99think they will see a big one between Canelo and Berlanga will get little bang for their buck for this contest live on DAZN PPV.
“This is a chance to prove that I am one of the best in the sport of boxing. Many people now have a question mark over my head. That question mark will be removed when I fight the legend,” Edgar Berlanga told the Matchroom Boxing YouTube channel.
Berlanga had the chance to prove he was one of the best by challenging WBA ‘ordinary’ champion David Morrell, but passed on the fight and just wanted Canelo. That tells you it’s all about money for Berlanga and not proving himself.
After Berlanga loses this fight, it will be a rinse and repeat with his management that suits him against lesser fighters, hoping to take him the backdoor route a second time for a title shot. Fighters like Berlanga are everything that is wrong with the sport.
A flawed system and a plastic record
Fight against weak opposition to build a fake plastic record to win over impressionable fans in New York who are looking for another Miguel Cotto hero to worship. They naively latched onto Berlanga, fooled by his false record, impressed by his gold chains, and boasted about himself.
“It’s time for some new young blood to come in and take over the 168 division,” Berlanga continued. “A lot of the guys get stuck in what they’re doing with the same repetition, the same everything.”
Canelo would have to be 100% washed up to lose this fight to Berlanga because on paper it’s a mismatch. Berlanga will lose to at least 10 top-15 contenders in the super middleweight division. Even Jermall Charlo, who has only fought once in the past three years, would beat Berlanga.
“With me, I’m like a sponge. Keep getting better, stay better. There is no stopping. We still have to go out there and win and become a legend. The better the opposition, the better I get. I’ve been doing this for 20 years,” Berlanga said.
“They say after ten years you become a master at something if you’ve done it every day. I’ve been doing this every day of my life since I was six or seven years old. So, it’s my time,” Berlanga said.
He is not any kind of “master” in the sport. Boxing for ten years does not make a fighter a “master”. Berlanga would have to beat top level fighters to fit into that category, and he didn’t. His best wins are Quigley, McCrory, Roamer Alexis Angulo and Marcelo Coceres.
“I actually like Canelo. I studied him a lot. Canelo was one of my idols. When I started coming to the game, I liked his style because his style reminded me of myself. He’s a puncher. He likes to fight, and he’s smart,” Berlanga said.
