Promoter Eddie Hearn says his fighter, Edgar Berlanga, obtained the “golden ticket” along with his deal to problem celebrity Canelo Alvarez for his WBA, WBC, and WBO super-middleweight titles on September 14th on the T-Cell Enviornment in Las Vegas.
Hearn’s Promise Fulfilled, However at What Price?
Hearn has rapidly delivered a combat for the nonetheless unproven WBA #1 ranked Berlanga (22-0, 14 KOs) after simply two fights along with his Matchroom promotional firm towards Jason Quigley and Padraig McCrory.
Berlanga simply beat them each to earn the #1 spot as Canelo’s WBA necessary. Berlanga was WBA ‘common’ tremendous middleweight champion David Morrell’s necessary initially. For apparent causes regarding his low probabilities of successful, Berlanga handed up the combat with Morrell and waited for Hearn to ship him the Canelo combat.
“We delivered our guarantees to Edgar Berlanga, however not really within the circumstances that I might have anticipated,” mentioned promoter Eddie Hearn to iFL TV about his getting Edgar Berlanga a mega-payday combat towards unified tremendous middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on September 14th.
Hearn doesn’t say whether or not he’ll re-sign Berlanga after his contract with Matchroom expires after the Canelo combat. If Berlanga loses badly to Canelo, will he nonetheless be helpful for Hearn as a B-side opponent for a number of the proficient tremendous middleweights, like Diego Pacheco and Christian Mbilli.
Berlanga’s Restricted Resume
It’s onerous to think about Hearn wanting to maintain Berlanga after the Canelo combat as a result of he could have fulfilled his function. Berlanga was by no means matched towards anybody proficient for him to construct his 22-0 document. If Hearn immediately put him in with proficient opposition, the result may not be fairly for the Puerto Rican fighter.
“I might count on us to be representing Canelo and doing a deal for him to combat Berlanga,” mentioned Hearn. “We did even higher than that. We did a take care of PBC for the combat, however we delivered our guarantees to Edgar Berlanga. We mentioned, ‘Two fights [Jason Quigley and Padraig McCrory], perhaps three, and you may combat Canelo Alvarez,’ and we accomplished it.”
Hearn obtained Berlanga a combat towards Canelo, and he didn’t even should match him towards a very good fighter to get him that. That’s the primary cause why there’s such an enormous backlash about this combat:
Berlanga hasn’t fought the kind of opposition to fee the combat towards Canelo. Berlanga’s opposition has been terrible, and he’s considered as a protected fighter with a flimsy document for cash-out functions, which he’s now fulfilled for Hearn.
Berlanga’s latest wins:
– Padraig McCory
– Jason Quigley
– Marcelo Coceres
– Roamer Alexis Angulo
– Demond Nicholson
– Steve Rolls
“I really like the combat as a result of I do know what Edgar is all about,” mentioned Hearn. “He’s a robust 168-pounder, very aggressive, who punches very onerous, and he’ll do every part in that ring. He’ll give his absolute soul to try to beat Canelo Alvarez. I’ll be on Edgar Berlanga’s aspect, but in addition, I can’t lie about my fondness of Canelo Alvarez.”
Provided that Berlanga was knocked down and badly harm by Marcelo Coceres, the probabilities of him being aggressive with Canelo are fairly slim on September 14th until the Mexican star on the slide. Canelo isn’t the fighter that he as soon as was, as we noticed in his final combat towards Jaime Munguia final Could, however Berlanga remains to be a simple mark for him and for any of the highest 5 tremendous middleweights.
Golden Ticket or Money-Out Alternative?
“I believe he’s an unimaginable fighter and I believe he’s an ideal man, however we obtained the golden ticket to the Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Manufacturing facility,” mentioned a gloating Hearn. “We gained the lottery as a result of everyone seems to be queuing up for a decide. We appreciated our spot from the beginning with the [WBA 168-lb] necessary challenger, an undefeated Puerto Rican fighter; we felt we’d get the combat.”
In an ideal world, Berlanga would have needed to combat David Morrell or David Benavidez to earn the Canelo combat as an alternative of McCrory and Quigley. Berlanga ought to have needed to combat Morrell first, however he would have by no means overwhelmed that expertise.
“We obtained it and obtained the proper deal. We’re grateful to PBC, and Edgar will give it every part in an enormous combat,” mentioned Hearn about his fighter, Berlanga, getting the Canelo Alvarez combat on September 14th.
