Edgar Berlanga: ‘Benavidez doesn’t sell, Morrell doesn’t sell… I have superstar status’

Edgar Berlanga had a snappy response to anyone questioning why he got the assignment to face Canelo Alvarez on Sept. 14 and the more decorated David Benavidez, and the undefeated powerhouse David Morrell did not.  

“Benavidez doesn’t sell, Morrell doesn’t sell. They don’t have that superstar status that I have,” a bejeweled Berlanga told BoxingScene in his dressing room on Monday just minutes before the start of his press conference in Midtown Manhattan with Canelo.

“They don’t have that power. I have a country behind me. I have Puerto Rico behind me, and I got the hip hop culture behind me. I know that’s why Canelo picked me – because we’re going to sell but we’re also going to fight and it’s going to be a good fight.”

Canelo will defend his three super middleweight titles against Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) next month at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas atop a PBC Pay-Per-View on Prime Video card on Mexican Independence Day Weekend.

Berlanga, 27, was in attendance on May 4 when Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) dropped and decisioned a game Jaime Munguia in Las Vegas. That was Canelo’s fourth straight win that went the distance, causing some to wonder if Canelo may have lost a step. Berlanga doesn’t think that’s the case.  

“I don’t see no decline in Canelo,” Berlanga told BoxingScene. “Canelo was Canelo. Munguia is a guy who throws a lot of punches and doesn’t really use his IQ. If he had used his IQ a lot more, the outcome would have probably been different. I think Canelo will be in the best shape and in the best form for this fight, and it’s going to be fireworks that weekend.”

Berlanga, the WBA’s No. 1 ranked mandatory contender, last saw action in February when he KO’d previously undefeated Padraig McCrory in the sixth round for his first stoppage in five fights. Berlanga believes he’s still an unfinished product who hasn’t scraped the ceiling of his potential.  

“What’s dangerous about me is that I’m not the same fighter that I was for my last fight,” he said. “I’m still a mystery [to Canelo]. Every fight I’m getting better and better. These guys at that level, they plateau. They stay stagnant. Me? I’m 27 years old but I’m still a sponge in the gym and I’m still growing and I’m still not at my full potential. I’m going to give everything I’ve got and make history on Sept. 14.”