WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez met with his challenger today for their kickoff press conference for their September 14th fight on DAZN and PBC on Prime Video PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The Eddie Hearn-promoted Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) crowded Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) during their face-off, but showed no animosity.
During the press conference, Berlanga sounded angry when talking about David Benavidez, whose fans have pushed Canelo to fight. He doesn’t like that fans trashed him, viewing him as a fake fighter with a fabricated record, filled with tomato cans, preferring that Canelo fight his WBC mandatory Benavidez.
Berlanga’s Anger Towards Benavidez Fans
Edgar Berlaga: “I don’t want to hear Benavidez. They keep mentioning Crawford. He fought a 154-pounder [WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov]. It was a tough fight. We got business to handle on September 14th. A lot of people keep mentioning Benavidez and all these guys. I know it’s not going to happen. That’s just it. September 14th, Berlanga-Canelo, Puerto Rico vs. Mexico.”
You have to go back to 2021 to find a worse opponent for Canelo than Berlanga. Canelo’s fight against Avni Yıldırım was on par with Berlanga. Those two are pretty even in the talent department.
Berlanga, 27, just looked grateful for being allowed to fight Canelo for his three titles and the chance to “get that bag,” as he puts it. Without this fight, it’s unclear how long Berlanga would have been able to continue winning without getting beaten by one of the low-level fighters his promoters have steadily matched against him.
No one outside of NYC asked for Canelo to fight Berlanga, and it’s an awful one on paper. I would have preferred that Canelo fight one of these talents:
- David Benavidez
- Christian Mbilli
- David Morrell
- Artur Beterbiev
Berlanga’s Questionable Credentials
He hadn’t fought anyone of true worth to get the title, his #1 ranking with the World Boxing Association, and it’s pretty obvious that he’s getting this opportunity due to his popularity in New York City with his Puerto Rican fanbase there, but not elsewhere. He’s not popular outside of NYC, and no one gives him any chance in this fight.
“This is a fight you’ve been chasing since you signed Edgar Berlanga to a contract over a year ago. Why was this the right time and how did this deal get done,” said commentator Chris Mannix to DAZN Boxing about the Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga fight on September 14th.
FIRST FACE-OFF 👀@Canelo vs @EdgarBerlangaJr
👑 WBC, WBA and WBO World Super Middleweight Titles #CaneloBerlanga | @DAZNBoxing PPV pic.twitter.com/rceqIeLpOk
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) August 5, 2024
“13 months ago, we signed Edgar Berlanga, and the promise was, we’d deliver the Canelo Alvarez fight,” said Eddie Hearn. “At the time, we were working with Canelo Alvarez as his promoter, and I expected it to be straightforward.”
Hearn should have at least put in a token effort to put Berlanga in with a live body after signing him to give him some credibility to deserve a Canelo fight. In the two fights that Hearn has had Berlanga, he’s matched him against these low-hanging fruit: Padraig McCrory and Jason Quigley.
“He got offered a deal by PBC, and he took that deal; I started to think an Edgar Berlanga fight wasn’t there for us,” said Hearn. “Thankfully, promoters are working together a lot more these days and the dream shot. Willy Wonka’s golden ticket.
“You win the lottery when you get this fight. When you look at the position and the commercial side, Edgar Berlanga is the mandatory challenger with the WBA. He’s 22-0, he’s a big puncher, he’s Puerto Rican, and it has all the appetite for a great clash.
“I think people are overlooking Edgar Berlanga in this fight. When you look at the options for Canelo Alvarez, outside of David Benavidez, this is the biggest fight for him.
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