Chris Eubank Junior’s chances of getting picked by Canelo Alvarez for his fight in September are good because Dana White chose to stage one of his UFC events on September 14th, the Mexican Independence Day weekend.
London Calling for Canelo & Eubank Jr.?
Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) may elect to wait several weeks and fight Eubank Jr. (33-3, 24 KOs) in England in September. That’s a fight that would bring in a lot of fans. It’s staged in London, the UK. It’s probably not a Wembley Stadium-level fight, but it sells many tickets for the arena.
The other opponent that Canelo is considering for his next fight is Edgar Berlanga, his WBA mandatory, and it would only make sense to fight him if it could happen in the U.S. during a holiday on September 14th. Berlanga would be a bad choice for Canelo for other reasons.
Fans do not consider the 27-year-old highly ranked Berlanga qualified to compete for a world title. They want to see him beat at least one top-tier opponent before getting a title shot, and he has not done that.
Berlanga: A Less Appealing Option
“If you don’t have the Mexican Independence Day option over here, you go to London,” said Teddy Atlas to Probox TV about Canelo Alvarez potentially facing Chris Eubank Jr. next in September in London, England. “If you want the great rivalry with Puerto Rican and Mexican fans, you go with [Edgar] Berlanga.”
The 34-year-old Eubank Jr. (33-3, 24 KOs) hasn’t fought in a year, and he’d have some ring rust on him going up against Canelo in September, but it wouldn’t matter even if he were active during the last 12 months. He’s not on the same level as Canelo talent-wise, and it’ll be a mismatch regardless.
“With the combination of the UFC going on Mexican Independence Day weekend, it may push Canelo out of Las Vegas,” said boxing expert Paulie Malignaggi. “In that situation, it may push the Berlanga fight away.”
Berlanga’s New York fans won’t be happy that he’s not getting the fight, but again, he doesn’t rate the fight, and it wouldn’t be good for Canelo to deal with the backlash from choosing him.
While Canelo is busy fighting Eubank Jr, perhaps Berlanga’s promoter Eddie Hearn can match against someone good to give him some credibility, like Caleb Plant, Jaime Munguia, David Benavidez, Christian Mbilli or David Morrell Jr.
“If you fight in the United States, Berlanga is the more viable opponent. He’s more popular,” said Malignaggi. “Eubank doesn’t have a lot of popularity in the U.S. If you go to Europe, you fight Eubank in England. I could see that possibility opening up, and I could see where he’s going with this.”
There are few options for Canelo’s fight in September unless he wants to include some of the fighters in the 160-lb weight class. Given that Eubank Jr. would be moving up from 160, Canelo could look at other fighters from that weight class, and fans wouldn’t complain.
“England would love to have a Canelo Alvarez. To me, those boxing fans are the best in the world,” said Malignaggi. “Even if he were fighting their local guy, obviously, they would root for Eubank, but they would still be privileged and in awe to have one of boxing’s stars choose their place to fight.”
London would be an excellent place for Canelo to fight, and there would be a lot of buzz around the event if it’s staged there. Eubank Jr. is clearly on the downside of his career, but fans still would want to see the fight if he’s fighting Canelo.
Dana White’s Impact on Canelo’s Schedule
“Dana White sits for nobody. Canelo sits for him. If you look at the UFC schedule, they’re doing that again in September [for Mexican Independence Day], you could see Canelo taking his act on the road to England, where he would obviously be welcomed with open arms. The English love their boxing and their superstar fighters,” said Malignaggi.
Canelo will have to get used to White staging his events on Mexican holidays in the U.S. to take advantage of the fans who would tune in. If Canelo were fighting someone popular like David Benavidez, he wouldn’t have to abandon his date in September, but if he were to fight Berlanga, who is only popular in sections of New York City, it wouldn’t work.
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