Canelo Alvarez could defend against Edgar Berlanga or Jermall Charlo for his next fight this year in September.
Berlanga, the WBA 168-lb mandatory, has repeatedly been mentioned as Canelo’s likely next opponent, but now former two-division world champion Jermall (33-0, 22 KOs) is another option.
Salvador Rodriguez of ESPN Knockout reports on X that Canelo could face Berlanga or Jermall on September 14th or “1 to 3 weeks” later.
Jermall Charlo: A Strong Option
Although the 34-year-old Jermall Charlo has fought only once in the last three years, he’s still a more proven fighter than thie 27-year-old Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs), and more deserving of a title shot against undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo.
Fans will criticize Canelo severely regardless of which of these two fighters he chooses for his next fight date in September. Canelo and his manager/trainer, Eddy Reynoso, would pick the lesser of two evils.
Jermall didn’t look that bad in his recent performance on November 25. He beat Jose Benavidez by a ten-round unanimous decision, winning by the lopsided scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92.
Jermall had been one of the options for Canelo’s last fight on May 4th, but the Mexican star selected Jaime Munguia instead, who he beat by a twelve-round unanimous decision.
Fan Reactions
Social media fans are overwhelmingly picking Jermall Charlo over Berlanga as the candidate they would prefer to see Canelo fight next in September. However, they’re not excited about seeing Canelo fight Jermall either. However, they still feel he’s the more proven commodity, given that he’s won world titles in two divisions and has fought much better opposition than Berlanga.
The problem with Berlanga is that he has a reputation for being a coddled fighter by his promoters, and he has been matched against poor opposition since he turned pro. Some view Berlanga as a creation by his original promoters at Top Rank to capitalize on the New York fans.
If Canelo is only interested in making money from the East Coast fans, who like Berlanga despite his weak resume, that would be the way to go. It would be an interesting pick because Canelo would criticized nonstop up until the fight. Berlanga is fun to listen to talk about himself because he seems so out of touch. He’s very good at self-promoting.
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