Edgar Berlanga Shifts Position on Canelo Not Facing Benavidez
On September 14, Edgar “The Chosen One” Berlanga (22-0, 17 KO’s) will enter the ring as the latest challenger for unified super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KO’s). It’s a fight that a large swath of the boxing community believes that Berlanga will handily lose. This is always why, throughout the official press tour, the looming elephant in the room is two-time super middleweight champion David “The Monster” Benavidez (29-0, 24 KO’s).
Years before The Chosen One became Alvarez’s WBA mandatory, Benavidez was Canelo’s WBC mandatory. Nevertheless, the unified champion has avoided a showdown with The Monster at every single turn. This naked aversion to the fight, and asking for a whopping $200 million to fight, has many thinking that Canelo is yellow-bellied when it comes to Benavidez. Now, in a recent interview with Fight Hub TV, Berlanga admits that he has to agree.
“He just put out an interview saying he’s a good fighter, he’s a dangerous fighter, he’s big, he comes in over twenty pounds. I’m like, bro you just made yourself sound like the biggest pussy in boxing! Like for real, you said $200 million. Because now I am thinking about it, like wait, I was like he’s probably not even scared of him.”
“But now, after seeing the interview he did the other day and he’s saying he’s a dangerous fighter, he’s big, he comes over twenty pounds, he’s the same weight as you at 168. So what does it matter, if you’re both buena [good] on Friday at 168? What does it matter if he jumps up fifteen, twenty pounds? You jump up the same weight bro, so what’s the difference here? It’s pussy, it’s pussy, it’s pussy, you’re pussy! Now you’re pussy, super pussy!”
HARD TO EXPLAIN
Admittedly, this is a rather stark change in tone for Berlanga. Prior to this point, he has had harsh words for The Monster as he’s thumbed his nose at him for not getting the fight. Now however, he has to acknowledge that it really doesn’t make much sense that he got the showdown so easily while Benavidez still waits. So rather than vitriol, he expresses understanding for why so many are naysaying his impending clash with Canelo.
“They [the fans] feel like I became the mandatory and ‘boom’, I got the fight so fast and David been the mandatory for what, three years? And he hasn’t got the fight. So that is why people is hating on me because they like, ‘how the fuck did Berlanga just become the mandatory like four months ago and all of the sudden he’s fighting Canelo and Benavidez was the mandatory for how many years and Canelo was ducking him and shit?’”
“So I see why they was upset. Like he made this guy wait, still waiting, he probably not ever going to fight him and then he got a guy like me that’s WBA mandatory and he’s like [snaps fingers], I’ll fight him, so.”
With this new confession, in many respects, there is new pressure on both Canelo and Berlanga. Now, each to a degree has to further justify why this match is taking place and not Alvarez versus Benavidez. If Berlanga wins or makes Canelo really work in the ring, then there is little to say against it. Yet, if Alvarez easily destroys The Chosen One, then once again the boxing populace will loudly question why he was selected in the first place. So for a number of reasons, September 14 will hold a great deal of answers, or dilemmas, for both combatants!
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