Edgar Berlanga looked badly drained on Thursday ahead of today’s weigh-in for his title fight against WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez this Saturday on the Mexican Independence Day at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
It’s time for Berlanga to consider moving up to 175 because he’s too big for the 168-lb division. He’s in the same boat as David Benavidez. He was also a giant at that weight before moving up to light heavyweight, where he belongs.
It would be interesting to know how much weight Berlanga puts on after he rehydrates for the fight on Saturday night. It wouldn’t be surprising if he weighs 190+ lbs, meaning that Canelo would be fighting a small cruiserweight.
Even with Canelo’s far more talent and experience than Berlanga, fighting a young cruiserweight on Saturday will be difficult for him. If Canelo didn’t include a rehydration limit in the contract for his fight with Berlanga, he dropped the ball because he should have seen how huge he is for his fights.
If this fight is just about Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) getting a payday, you can’t fault him for that, but he’s clearly a true 175-pounder and should be fighting where he should be. All those knockouts that Berlanga has scored at 168 are due to his being a light heavyweight with his frame.
If Berlanga moves up in weight to 175, those knockouts will dry up when he begins fighting guys his size who can take his power. Moving up to 175 would put Berlanga in with these sharks:
– David Morrell
– Artur Beterbiev
– Dmitriy Bivol
– Wily Hutchinson
– David Benavidez
– Anthony Yarde
– Wily Hutchinson
– Joshua Buatsi
– Craig Richards
Berlanga is a good fighter, but a big reason for that is his size. He does not look like he belongs at 168 and probably should have moved up in weight six years ago.
Last Updated on 09/13/2024
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