Eddie Hearn says Berlanga is coming to collect winning lottery ticket for Canelo Fight

Eddie Hearn says he and his fighter Edgar Berlanga are not “rolling the dice” against Canelo Alvarez on Saturday night. They come to unseat unified super middleweight champion Canelo and take his belts home to Brooklyn, New York.

Matchroom promoter Hearn says he promised Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) he would get him a fight against Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) within three fights of signing him last year, and he made good on that promise by getting Edgar the title shot after matching him first against Jason Quigley and Padraig McCrory.

Canelo could have picked someone else, but he wanted Berlanga and helped Hearn keep his promise. The match between Canelo and Berlanga will be shown live on DAZN PPV this Saturday, September 14, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Fans are still slightly annoyed by the event price of $89.99, as it is a bit steep for what some feel is a mismatch and weak undercard. Boxing has become one of the most expensive sports, and that is unlikely to change.

“It’s a special week—Mexican Independence Day weekend. Obviously another defense for the unified champion Canelo Alvarez,” promoter Eddie Hearn told the media during today’s final press conference for the Canelo vs. Edgar Berlanga event Saturday night in Las Vegas.

“I’m excited about this fight. When two guys come face to face and when someone has the (courage) to really take this guy (Canelo) and not just talk about it and not come and survive 12 rounds. When these two look each other in the eye, you know they want to screw each other up.

“This guy (Berlanga) on my left is here to fight. I have been involved in so many of these battles. Sometimes on this side and sometimes on this side. When I showed up yesterday, I saw the most determined, the most confident and (courageous) challenger I’ve ever seen this guy (Canelo) take on in Edgar Berlanga.”

Fans still have sticker shock and complain that the event isn’t worth $90 on PPV. They wouldn’t be saying that if Hearn had used his two previous fights for Berlanga to match him up against David Morrell, David Benavidez and Jaime Munguia. Hearn’s decision to play it safe with Berlanga by matching him against McCrory and Quigley was a mistake.

“I know what Canelo wants at this point in his career,” Hearn said. “He wants a real fight. This guy (Berlanga) is 22-0, undefeated, he’s young and he has zero miles on the clock. 16 first round knockouts. He hits hard and also has an underrated boxing IQ.”

Canelo could have gotten a good fight if he agreed to fight Benavidez or Morrell, but he didn’t want to fight them. He wanted Berlanga, and it was not a popular decision. During today’s final press conference, Canelo said that he has already fought everyone. So, he felt that Berlanga was therefore the perfect guy. He was dishonest because he didn’t fight the top 168-pounders and went out of his way to out-swing them.

“When I signed him, I said one thing. Two main fights and then the shot against Canelo Alvarez,” Hearn said. ‘Everything happened beautifully. This is a massive event. It’s like the lottery ticket of boxing. We are in Las Vegas. This is where you roll the dice, but we’re not going to roll the dice. We are going to collect the winning ticket.”

Hearn pulled the strings to get Berlanga to the #1 spot with the WBA from his fights against British fighters Padraig McCrory and Jason Quigley and then earned him the title shot against Canelo without fighting anyone well to risk his undefeated record .

“I promise you the atmosphere at the T-Mobile Saturday night will be incredible. The man on my left (Berlanga) is here to win. He will give you action on Saturday night. Don’t rule him out. Enjoy the show, and good luck to everyone,” Hearn said.