Edgar Berlanga’s reported fight-night weight last Saturday was 193 pounds for his unsuccessful title challenge against WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas. That’s a massive gain of 25.4 lbs from the 167.6 lbs that the Matchroom-promoted Berlanga weighed last Friday.
Salvador Rodriguez of ESPN Knockout revealed Berlanga’s weight. It helps explain the size difference between the New Yorker Berlanga and Mexico’s Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs), who looked like they were two divisions apart in size inside the ring.
Boxing Needs Regulation
Fighters that rehydrate into the 190s typically compete at light heavyweight [175], not at super middleweight, with a weight limit of 168. For Berlanga to rehydrate 20+ lbs for his fights at super middleweight, it means he should be competing in the 175-lb division.
If boxing were better regulated with sanctioning bodies and commissions that enforced strict rehydration limits, fighters wouldn’t get away with ballooning 20+ lbs after weighing in because it’s dangerous for their opponents.
“I was told that Edgar Berlanga entered the ring tonight at 193 pounds, that is 25.4 pounds above the 167.6 he weighed on Friday. The Puerto Rican won by losing,” said Salvador Rodriguez on X about how much Edgar Berlanga entered the ring for his fight against unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez last Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena.
Canelo should have insisted on a rehydration limit for the fight to prevent Berlanga from ballooning up to 25+ lbs. Still, even then, it might not have worked, given the modern methods fighters use to gain back water weight within hours rapidly.
Weight Bullies Need to Be Eliminated
It’s hard on the body, but younger fighters can do it without it causing them to be sluggish. Hence, you see many, what some fans call ‘weight bullies’ in boxing, who fight below their natural weight class to gain a massive advantage over their smaller opponents.
For example, if Berlanga were fighting where he should be at light heavyweight, he probably wouldn’t do well and wouldn’t be among the top 10 in the division.
Even with a wily promoter, a limited fighter like Berlanga would be over his head at light heavyweight, and his career would rapidly be over as a valuable fighter for networks like DAZN, with him playing up the Puerto Rican angle.
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