Edgar Berlanga believes he brings more to the table in a fight against Canelo Alvarez in September than any other fighter the Mexican star has fought.
Berlanga (22-0, 17KOs) is not short on confidence like many East Coast fighters. Fans see this as a sick mismatch for Canelo and are alarmed that he would choose to face the unproven WBA mandatory.
The Tune-Up Fight
Canelo hasn’t yet confirmed that he’ll fight Berlanga, 27, next, but it’s believed he’ll be his tune-up opponent to get one last fight in before he faces Terence Crawford in the first half of 2025.
Berlanga is okay for warm-up purposes because it gives Canelo a chance to take a break from fighting quality opposition to give him an easy win before he takes on Crawford.
What’s interesting about Berlanga is how confident he is for someone who has been matched against tomato cans his entire career by his promoters at Top Rank initially, and the tradition carried on when Matchroom signed the New Yorker.
The Puerto Rico vs. Mexico Narrative
“He knows I’m about to make that bag, and we’re going to beat him,” said Edgar Berlanga to Cigar Talk about his belief that he’s going to beat Canelo Alvarez in September.
Hopefully, this fight is more than Berlanga getting “that bag” because fans aren’t going to be excited about paying to see a mismatch if he doesn’t at least make it interesting.
Berlanga didn’t perform well in his fights against Roamer Alexis Angulo, Marcelo Conceres, Steve Rolls, Jason Quigley, and Demond Nicholson.
Although Berlanga said Padraig McCrory is the best opponent he’s faced, it’s hard to take the 36-year-old Irish fighter seriously because his resume was empty of names, and he didn’t resemble a world-class fighter when they fought last February.
“It’s legacy for me. It’s Puerto Rico vs. Mexico. Everybody keeps talking about that fight. I feel I got to get bugged out. Now, I feel it’s time for me to go to that level,” said Berlanga when asked how he beats Canelo.
“I know he [Canelo] fought big punchers and everybody, but I feel with me, it’s something different. I’m going to bring something different to the table.
“I elevate with the competition. My IQ goes through the roof. In my last fight, I knew someone was coming to fight,” said Berlanga about his win over little-known 36-year-old Irish fighter Padraig McCrory last February. “I knew he had knockout power [50% KO rate].
“I knew he [McCrory] was my toughest fighter on my resume. So, I was already on point. I knew what kind of knockout I needed to secure my spot to get in the ring with Canelo, and I did that,” said Berlanga.
Berlanga’s win over McCrory made him the mandatory for then WBA ‘regular’ 168-lb champion David Morrell, but Edgar rejected that fight for obvious reasons, choosing to wait for Canelo to bless him with a title shot. The Cuban talent Morrell would have been a nightmare for Berlanga.
“This is going to be a different type of magnitude this fight [Canelo]. I got the Puerto Ricans, I got the Russians, I got the Chinese, I got the whites. I got everybody. I’m not just with the Latin community. Obviously, it’s boxing, so they’re going to put Puerto Rico vs. Mexico.
“I’m a big draw. I know a lot of people love knockouts, and that’s what I give,” said Berlanga.
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