Canelo Alvarez believes Edgar Berlanga will be similar to his last fight against Jaime Munguia on May 4th. WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight champion Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) stated that he enjoyed the brawl with the previously unbeaten Munguia and didn’t want to finish him off.
Canelo’s ‘Mercy’ on Munguia
That could mean Canelo will show mercy to Berlanga and carry him the way he appeared to carry Munguia for 12 one-sided rounds last May.
It looked like Canelo could have easily knocked Munguia out in the fourth round after he dropped, but he showed no urgency to do so after he got back up. For the remainder of the fight, Canelo seemed to be sparring more than fighting, which kind of tipped people off that he was carrying Munguia, showing mercy.
Canelo will find it harder to do the same against Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) because he hits so hard. He’ll be swinging for the fences, trying to knock him out. If Canelo doesn’t step on the gas in this fight, he’s going to get a lot of punishment from the 27-year-old Berlanga.
“I think it’s a good fight because Mexico vs. Puerto Rico has a lot of history there,” said Canelo Alvarez to the DAZN Boxing YouTube forum about why he chose Edgar Berlanga as his opponent for September 14th. “They always say something. They’re always critical of me. I fought everybody, and no matter what, they say something. I don’t really care,” said Canelo when told that people have been critical of his choice of Berlanga as his opponent.”
Boxing fans are critical of Canelo because he arguably chose a bottom-tier fighter with Berlanga, who is not in the same ballpark talent-wise as the fighters that Canelo skipped over, like Christian Mbilli, Diego Pachevo, and Caleb Plant.
Canelo would have been praised if he’d fought David Benavidez or David Morrell before the two left the 168-lb division, but he’s on a glorified retirement tour but hasn’t told anyone. The opoisition that Canelo is facing indicates that he’s retired from fighting high-level fighters and is just padding his record and making easy money.
For the record, Berlanga is a New Yorker, not a Puerto Rican. So, the U.S. fans don’t see the fight as Mexico vs. Puerto Rico. Berlanga has a 100% New York accent. When you’re not born in that country, you can’t say you’re one of them.
“He’s strong and fast, especially at the beginning of the fight. He’s big for the weight class, but nothing new for me. It’s very hard to understand because he talks in a weird accent,” said Canelo when asked what Berlanga said to him when he whispered in his ear at their recent press conference.
“He said, ‘I’m going to show you on September 14th. You’re going to see.’ I said, ‘No, I’m not going to see anything different. You’re going to experience something different. You will see.’ He says that. He just knows how to go forward and throw punches. That’s why I think it will be a good fight,” said Canelo.
High PPV Price for a Potential Mismatch
Whatever Berlanga said to Canelo is meaningless. He’s overmatched in this fight, and is going to get dominated by Canelo. It’s too bad the price of the event wasn’t so high. Selling this mismatch along the mediocre undercard for $89.99 on PPV is a mistake. It will hurt Canelo’s popularity if the fight turns out to be one-sided.
“Yeah, I think so,” said Canelo about whether he sees his fight with Berlanga as being similar to his match against Jaime Munguia on May 4th. “I loved it. I enjoyed it a lot, and that’s why I didn’t want to finish Munguia. I enjoy it a lot.”
Munguia has a better chin and stamina than Berlanga. They are similar in that both fighters have been groomed on soft opposition, building fluff records in what some feel was to get a cash-out against Canelo. It would obviously be pathetic if the whole purpose of Berlanga and Munguia’s careers were to get a big-money fight against Canelo, but that’s what some fans believe. Neither guy fought top-tier opposition before facing Canelo.
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