Edgar Berlanga says he has no interest in fighting former IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant next.
Hearn’s Only Bait: Berlanga
The Matchroom Boxing-promoted Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) is banking on getting a fight against undisputed 168-lb champion Canelo Alvarez next, and he expects talks to begin soon to make it happen.
Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) is a free agent now, and Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn only has Berlanga to try to lure him back to DAZN for September.
Hearn’s other fighter at 160, Diego Pacheco, isn’t well-known enough to interest Canelo in returning to Matchroom for a one-fight deal.
Hearn has no one else to lure Canelo back to DAZN other than Berlanga, and if that fight happens, fans will be angry because they don’t like Edgar’s shortcut to the money match.
Plant: A Risky Step Up
Berlanga should fight Plant (22-2, 13 KOs) in a match to prove himself worthy of a title shot, but it would be a risky clash that he could lose.
Hearn probably wouldn’t be interested in matching Berlanga against Plant anyway because he’s paying the New Yorker a lot of money after signing him after he left Top Rank.
The British promoter won’t get a return on his investment if he throws Berlanga in with Plant or someone like David Morrell, who is also interested in fighting him. Like Plant, Berlanga does not want to fight Morrell, and many boxing fans can understand why.
Berlanga dismisses Plant
“He started talking crazy. He’s not even Spanish,” said Berlanga to Fight Hub TV when asked about his recent altercation with Caleb Plant at Friday’s weigh-in for Canelo’s fight against Jaime Munguia.
“‘Why you here, bro?’ You got knocked out by Canelo, you got beat the f*** up by Benavidez, and you want to be in a Mexican territory and Latino territory? You just looking for a come-up. You looking for clout right now,’ and he seen me and he knows what time it is and he wants to get a fight.”
Some boxing fans believe it’s Berlanga who is looking for a “come-up” by campaigning for a lucrative fight against Canelo without earning it by fighting a good opponent.
Berlanga’s best wins:
– Jason Quigley
– Padraig McCrory
– Demond Nicholson
– Roamer Alexis Angulo
– Marcelo Coceres: Dropped
– Steve Rolls
“‘You can’t f*** with me. You got knocked out by Canelo. You lost really bad to David. If you fight me,’ I’m going to going to end his career,” said Berlanga.
When Berlanga was asked if he’d be interested in fighting Plant, he gave the middle finger to the camera. “We talk about sparring we had when I was 17-years-old. I was like 18 and had two pro fights, and I hit him with a body shot and I stopped him. He’s a b****.”
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