Edgar Berlanga Salivates At the Potential of a Canelo Fight
If given his way, Brooklyn super middleweight Edgar “The Chosen One” Berlanga (22-0, 17 KO’s) would clash with undisputed 168-pound champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KO’s) this September, even over the decorated David “The Monster” Benavidez (28-0, 24 KO’s). The heavy-handed pugilist shared as much in a recent Q&A with Fight Hub TV.
“I give a lot of respect to Canelo, and Munguia, they are true champions. Hopefully, we can run it [in] September – Puerto Rico versus Mexico. I feel like that is the biggest thing that can happen for this year.”
YOUR LEMONS, MY LEMONADE
Some would question why the young upstart in Berlanga would get the shot next when Benavidez is also waiting in line. And of the two, The Monster, a two-time world champion, has been waiting literally for the past three years! Pulling no punches, The Chosen One acknowledged that Canelo was blacklisting Benavidez but viewed it as ‘one man’s misfortune is another’s stroke of luck.’
“I don’t take anything away from David, David is a great champion. I just feel like Canelo has his differences with him. I feel like Canelo is at that stage where he does what he wants. He’s the money man, he got the title, so he can do whatever the fuck he wants. And he feel like a fighter got to respect him and at the end of the day . . . he feels like Benavidez never gave him that respect.”
BRILLIANT POTENTIAL
One huge reason that Berlanga, ranked #1 (WBA), 4 (IBF) and #5 (WBO), wants the Canelo match so bad is due to the long-term implications.
“That fight is going to go down in history, for a long, long, long time, in the sport of boxing! I’m a superstar from Puerto Rico, representing my island heavy. Yeah, we don’t have a title but my credentials and just the way that I walk around and just who I am around and just how I fight. I bring action, I’m an action-packed fighter bro! I can take a punch, I could definitely give a punch and I just have everything it takes to become a superstar!”
From a marketing standpoint, there is a big upside to giving Berlanga the nod for a September shot at Alvarez. Yet, when thinking about the sport, who is more accomplished and who has earned the shot, there is no question that Benavidez would face Canelo before The Chosen One. But let’s wait and see what happens with the very zany backroom boxing business.
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