Edgar Berlanga was too happy after losing to Canelo Alvarez last weekend by a lopsided 12-round decision, suggesting he lacks the mindset of a winner.
Like others, Paulie Malignaggi didn’t like how happy Berlanga, 27, was after the fight, as if he had done something special by not getting knocked out by the much smaller and favored 34-year-old Canelo.
Berlanga treated the loss as a moral victory, but did not fight hard or try to win. He fought like a bigger version of Jermell Charlo, who was just there for the payday against Canelo but wasn’t willing to go out like a warrior on his shield.
The 193-pound Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs), who should compete at cruiserweight, acted like he did something special by going a round or two against unified super middleweight champion Canelo at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas win. .
Not surprisingly, Berlanga was ecstatic not to be knocked out, as he got a huge multi-million payday that set him up for life. Not getting knocked out also means that there will be other well-paying fights for Berlanga. Had Canelo stopped him, the chances of another big money fight would have been diminished.
“I don’t mind Berlanga’s stock going up, but you have to let other people give you credit for a moral victory. You can’t be that happy about a loss here,” Paulie Malignaggi told Probox TV channeldiscuss Edgar Berlanga where he was satisfied with the 12-round distance against Canelo Alvarez last weekend.
Berlanga’s stock did not rise with hardcore boxing fans who saw the fight and noted that he was not trying to win the Canelo fight. Loslits who don’t understand what they’re looking at will be happy that Berlanga went 12 rounds, but no one else. Even if this was the first boxing match I watched, I would have been bothered by Berlanga’s lack of effort and smelled a rat. He wasn’t trying to win. He was just there for payday.
“For me, he was a little too happy for a guy who won one or two rounds in the fight and never tried to win the fight. So, there is a change of mentality the next time he is tested at this level. I wonder if a guy who thinks like that is capable of doing that,” Malignaggi said of Berlanga.
You could argue that Berlanga doesn’t take his own career seriously. The impression I got from listening to him and watching his previous 21 pro fights is that he knows what his career is all about. It’s just one big marketing ploy to fight lesser fighters, build up a record of wins over fluff opposition, create a false image and sell it to the public to make loads of money.
It worked because Berlanga got a fight against Canelo without ever facing a world-class opponent to get the title shot. Now it will rinse and repeat. Berlanga is still fighting scrubs to get a second fight against Canelo or some other hot guy he doesn’t have.
“I think he and Mbilli are a fun fight. I think he and Munguia are a fun fight. I don’t know if he’s ready for Plant yet because he showed another gear that he can actually take it to you in the McCumby fight. I didn’t see that side of Plant either. He is a great boxer, but Plant also has a dog in him,” Malignaggi said.
Berlanga’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has already hinted that they will give him a soft opponent next in New York or Puerto Rico in early 2025. Hearn says he wants Berlanga to fight Munguia, Caleb Plant or Jermall Charlo. Berlanga has other ideas. He wants to fight for the IBF title against the winner of the William Scull vs. Vladimir Shishkin fight. However, Berlanga may not be aware of the IBF’s 10-lb rehydration limit. It will be nearly impossible for Berlanga to fight for the IBF belt if he rehydrates to 193 pounds.
“I want to see Berlanga against a hungry fighter like Mbilli, like Pacheco. It’s time we see if Berlanga has that anger. I didn’t see that killer instinct in the Canelo fight. I saw a guy who was lucky to survive the distance and never tried to win the fight. I have to see if he has the killer inside. Not against the traveling companions of the world. Can he get to that spot mentally against high caliber opposition? He hasn’t shown it to me yet, not even against Canelo,” says Malignaggi.
New Yorker Berlanga has never beaten a world-class opponent to get the title shot against Canelo in the first place. The Eddie Hearn-promoted Berlanga earned a title shot against Canelo by beating British domestic fighters Jason Quigley and Padraig McCrory.
It was disturbing that the World Boxing Association gave Berlanga a #1 ranking after beating those two lesser fighters. If the sport worked right, Berlanga would have to at least beat someone like Diego Pacheco, Osleys Inglesias, Christian Mbilli or Jaime Munguia to get a #1 ranking with the WBA.