Canelo Alvarez could face Edgar Berlanga next in September, not his IBF mandatory William Scull, as previously believed.
Earlier today, William Scull’s team reported agreeing with undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo’s team to avert a purse bid.
A Step-Aside Deal for Scull?
There’s now speculation that this was a step-aside deal for Scull and that Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) would instead face his WBA mandatory Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) in September.
Salvador Rodriguez believes it could be a step aside that Scull (22-0, 9 KOs) agreed to and that “Edgar Berlanga has let his team know that they will have to get ready for Canelo” in September. Team Canelo must still clarify whether Berlanga or Scull will be next.
Berlanga would be the lesser of two poisons for Canelo. If the Mexican star has made up his mind that he wants to defend against one of his mandatory challengers, Berlanga is a better option than Scull.
However, Canelo would be kicking the problem down the road because he would still need to defend against Scull in his next fight if he wants to keep his IBF title. Of course, Canelo has the kind of money to pay a step aside to Scull indefinitely unless the IBF puts its foot down and demands he face their mandatory.
The Financial Appeal of Berlanga
Canelo can make money fighting Berlanga because he’s popular in the New York area, and many fans would be interested in ordering the fight on PPV. That’s a far bigger fight for Canelo than fighting Scull, and it would create a lot of noise because the fan dislike for Berlanga.
If Berlanga played the villain role, the fight could generate a lot of PPV buys from people wanting to see Canelo hand the New Yorker his just desserts.
There wouldn’t be much interest outside of the East Coast, though, because Berlanga has never fought anyone remotely good during his career for him to become popular. He’s a good talker and promotes himself well. He wears a lot of gold chains and talks a lot about ‘getting the bag.’
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