Edgar Berlanga told the media that Canelo Alvarez isn’t showing signs of decline and that he is not taking him lightly ahead of their fight on September 14th.
(Credit: Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions)
Fans believe the 34-year-old Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) is on the downside of his career after watching him labor to a twelve-round decision against Jaime Munguia last May. Canelo made his opponent look good, and that was hard to do because Munguia is an average fighter.
Flattery as a Pre-Fight Tactic?
Instead of Canelo defending his WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight titles against David Benavidez, he’s selected Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs), who has no experience against true world-class opposition.
This fight is seen as Canelo doing his former promoter, Eddie Hearn, a favor by fighting his guy, Berlanga, a fighter he inked last year to Matchroom to quickly ramp him up for a cash-out before discarding him as useless goods.
“A lot of people say Canelo is declining a little bit. I don’t see that. That dude is a legend for a reason,” said Edgar Berlanga to the media, praising superstar Canelo Alvarez ahead of their fight next month on September 14th.
The “Bag” Chaser’s Shameless Hustle
It wouldn’t make sense for Berlanga, 27, to criticize Canelo because that would be biting the hand that feeds. He’s obviously eternally grateful that Canelo gave him this opportunity to get a payday to “get that bag.”
The gold chair-wearing Berlanga has been talking nonstop since Hearn signed him last year to get the “bag” in a fight against Canelo, and it’s sounded so off-putting because he didn’t show any interest in earning the payday by fighting Caleb Plant, Benavidez, David Morrell or Munguia.
It made it obvious to fans that Berlanga wasn’t going to risk losing and was hoping that Canelo would give him a payoff off wins over bargain-basement opposition.
If Berlanga were an NFL team, he would have earned his way to a Super Bowl by beating teams with 4-12 records. Canelo indulges him, which could set a trend that other fighters and their wily promoters follow. Match fighters against lesser opposition to get them to cash out. Once they lose, repeat the process to get another payday.
“He put in that work to where he is now. He knows what’s up ahead of him. As a legend, you know there’s a task always ahead of you. So, I know he’s at his best right now, and he’s not taking me lightly,” said Berlanga.
Canelo’s “Bum of the Month”
Canelo isn’t taking Berlanga lightly, but he also doesn’t view him as a dangerous killer that he has nothing to worry about. This is the equivalent of heavyweight great Joe Louis and his ‘Bum of the Month‘ at that point in Canelo’s career.
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