Caleb Plant’s trainer, Stephen Edwards, says he doesn’t think a fight between him and Edgar Berlanga will happen. He listened to Berlanga (23-01, 18 KOs) saying, “F*** Caleb Plant,” after his first-round knockout win over Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz on March 15th, and he took that to mean that he’s not interested.
Money-First Mentality
Berlanga actually said in an interview that Plant isn’t who he wants. He wants Jaime Munguia or Jermall Charlo. He feels beating one of those guys will be the golden ticket to getting a rematch with Canelo Alvarez. That’s the fight Berlanga has been talking endlessly about. He got “The Bag” fighting Canelo last September and wants a second helping.
Edgar knows that killers like Plant, Osleys Iglesias, David Benavidez, Diego Pacheco, and Christian Mbilli would be too risky for him to achieve his goal. So, it’s the aged, inactive, unmotivated 35-year-old Jermall Charlo and the recent twice-beaten Munguia.
If boxing had its act together, fighters like Berlanga would have to run the gauntlet through all the top contenders to get a title shot against Canelo. As we saw with Berlanga, he didn’t have to do that. For Edgar to get “the bag,” he only had to beat these three:
– Padraig McCrory
– Jason Quigley
– Roamer Alexis Angulo
“I didn’t hear him call Caleb out. I heard him say, ‘F*** Caleb Plant,’” said trainer Stephen Edwards to MillCity Boxing about Edgar Berlanga not calling out Caleb Plant after his win over Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz last week. “I didn’t hear him say, ‘I want to fight Caleb Plant.’ He said ‘F*** Caleb Plant,’ and he kept saying it. That’s NOT a callout.”
Berlanga definitely did not callout Plant after his fight against Gonzalez-Ortiz. When he was interviewed, he repeatedly said, ‘F*** Caleb Plant.” When asked who he wants to fight, Berlanga said, “Jaime Munguia and Jermall Charlo.” Fans weren’t listening to him and mistakenly thought he was hyping up the Plant fight. No, he was rejecting it. He wants the recently knocked-out Munguia, who has the same manufactured resume as him.
Munguia has been matched against scrubs his entire career until he got the payday fight against Canelo Alvarez last May, which he lost by a one-sided 12-round decision. In his last fight, Munguia fought an unknown guy, Bruno Surace, who had an unbeaten record filled with no names. Surprisingly, Mungua was knocked out. It’s not because Surace is good. He lost because he was just a hype job from day one.
A-Side Demands
“I did see Berlanga being unset with Eddie Hearn for not making the William Scull fight. I understand why he was upset. I think him and Caleb are going to have problems making their fight. Edgar believes he’s a bigger star and he’s going to want the most money. Caleb believes he’s better than Edgar, and he’s a bigger star and wants the most money.
“Caleb Plant was a world champion before and had title defenses. When you’re sitting down and having negotiations, all those things come up as far as who is going to be the A-side and who is going to be the B-side. I can see why Edgar was angry and Eddie Hearn because he wants to be a world champion because if he gets a world title, Caleb can’t throw that up in his face and be the A-side. Canelo got the fight [with Scull].”
Stephen has got it wrong. Berlanga said the reason he wanted to fight IBF super middleweight champion William Scull is because he believed it was a sure-thing win, and he could use the title as a lure to get a rematch with unified three-belt champ Canelo Alvarez. Berlanga made $10 million in his fight against Canelo last September, and he wants a quick rematch to get a similar payday.
The money he’s making against other fighters is far less. So, if Berlanga had beaten Scull, Canelo would fight him again to capture the fourth belt to have the undisputed super middleweight championship on the line for his fight against Terence Crawford in September. As much as the boxing public would hate to see a rematch between Canelo and Berlanga, it would still happen. It won’t now, though, because Berlanga didn’t get the fight with Scull.
Benavidez Fear
“Edgar never fought Benavidez, and I don’t think that fight would ever happen. I don’t think it would happen now because Benavidez is a little too much for Berlanga. They could have fought, but he [Berlanga] went after Canelo because he’s a super big star [allowing Edgsr to get a big payday].
“Edgar has one of the best managers in boxing in Keith Connolly. That guy knows what he’s doing, and he’s not going to let Edgar fight Benavidez. Edgar is a good fighter, but do you see the fights Benavidez is taking? Those are tough fights. They [Berlanga] wouldn’t fight him because they would lose, and it would ruin his brand a little bit. It’s one thing losing to Canelo by decision.
“You could say he wasn’t experienced enough. Losing to Benavidez by a brutal beating or by a knockout it just wouldn’t be good for his brand, especially in a fight he don’t have to take. So, I don’t see him fighting him,” said Stephen.
Berlanga likely will fight Benavidez at some point, but only for the money, not because he thinks he can win or deserves a fight. If Berlanga moves up to 175, he’ll face the soft opposition that he’d build his 23-1 record on at 168 and look for the big payday.
The guy is so predictable with the way his management is matching him. He never fought anyone top-tier before getting a fight against Canelo last September, and now that he’s lost, he’s returned to fighting the tomato cans that he built his manufactured record on.
Last Updated on 03/20/2025
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