Eddie Hearn, Matchroom promoter, is cool to the idea of Canelo Alvarez defending his undisputed super middleweight championship against Chris Eubank Jr. next in September.
Hearn’s Case for Berlanga
Hearn doesn’t like that fight for Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) and wants him to fight his WBA 168-lb mandatory Edgar Berlanga, who he promotes. He thinks that a fight between Canelo and Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) would sell well in the U.S due to the Mexico vs. Puerto Rico rivalry.
The problem that Hearn is failing to recognize is Berlanga has fought exclusively low-level opposition his entire career and isn’t well known outside of the hardcore fan community.
Many hardcore fans view Berlanga as just a hype job with no substance, and Hearn’s careful match-making for the New Yorker hasn’t helped since signing him.
If Canelo fought Berlanga, he would be criticized nonstop in the U.S, and it wouldn’t be worth fighting him because he would never hear the end of it. Hearn isn’t aware of that because he’s UK-based, but that’s the cold, brutal reality.
What Hearn should have done when he signed Berlanga was match him against these fighters to improve his popularity in the U.S:
– David Morrell
– Caleb Plant
– David Benavidez
– Christian Mbilli
– Diego Pacheco
Instead of Hearn matching Berlanga against those fighters, he set him up with two easy fights against British fighters Padraig McCrory and Jason Quigley, which did nothing to improve his popularity in the U.S.
A Misguided Assessment
“I don’t think it would be in the UK. It would be in the U.S, but I don’t know,” said Eddie Hearn to Charlie Parson’s YouTube channel, reacting to the news of Canelo Alvarez potentially fighting Chris Eubank Jr. next in September.
“No, not really,” said Hearn when asked if he felt the Canelo vs. Eubank Jr. fight would be a “big” one in the U.S. “Eubank got stopped by Liam Smith. He came back. For me, Conor Benn, the welterweight, against Chris Eubank Jr. is a 50-50 fight.”
Canelo needs a tune-up opponent for his next fight in September to prepare for a fight against Terence Crawford in early 2025. While Hearn thinks Berlanga is a great idea, he fights nothing like Crawford and looks like a light heavyweight after he rehydrates for his fights at 168.
Fighting Berlanga would be preparation for a fight against David Benavidez, but even in that case, he would be a poor opponent because he’s so average.
“Chris Eubank Jr. against the 168-lb Canelo Alvarez is not. So, I think that I get it, but no. I prefer Edgar Berlanga. He’s the [WBA 168-lb] mandatory challenger. He’s a big, strong 168-pounder who can really punch Mexico vs. Puerto Rico. That’s a big fight that does big numbers,” said Hearn.
Canelo-Berlanga would not do big numbers in the U.S. because Berlanga is known in the East Coast in New York, and even there, he’s popular in sections, not the entire state. That’s not enough to make a fight between them a huge one.
“Just in the hat,” said Hearn when asked where he is with Edgar Berlanga. “You got [Jermall] Charlo. You got Berlanga. You got Eubank as well, as I understand it, so we’ll see. No, not really. He’s been inactive, and he’s not competitive. What’s the point?” said Hearn when asked if Jermall would be a good fight for Canelo.
A Better Path for Berlanga
Hearn should match Berlanga against David Morrell to improve his popularity. If Berlanga gets blown out of the water by Morrell, Hearn should finish his contract with the New Yorker by returning to match him against the low-level fighters he’d been putting him in with and wash his hands off his experiment.
“He’s going to make the decision ultimately, and it’s going to be a decision based around money and who he wants to fight. I think he would enjoy a fight against Edgar Berlanga because Edgar Berlanga would stand in front of him, he would trade with him, and he would make it exciting. So, yeah, that would be the right choice,” said Hearn about who Canelo should fight next in September.
Whoever Canelo fights in September, he will be criticized unless he faces someone tough, like Morrell or the light heavyweight-sized David Benavidez. If he fights Benavidez, someone would need to meet his $200 million asking price, and a strict 10-lb rehydration limit would be necessary.
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