Sunday Convo: Does Edgar Berlanga Deserve A Shot At Canelo?

There is no question that Berlanga had a boulder on his back coming into the fight called pressure, as he hadn’t had a knockout since December 2020, and patience had almost run out on him to see if he could ever get back to being “The Monster.” The mood in the locker room felt serious as even Fat Joe wasn’t his joyful self, as he was also aware of what was at stake for Berlanga. Once Berlanga started to walk towards the ring, there was no turning back, and he had a job to do, which was to make the fans believers again.

When the fight started, Berlanga was extremely cautious, and it almost caught McCrory by surprise as he expected Berlanga to jump on him from the start. It was in the third round when Berlanga started to open up, but with that was the cost of him getting hit with a left hook by McCrory that bothered the 26-year-old from Brooklyn, NY. Still, Berlanga kept his composure, and although stunned a few times, he felt that McCrory’s power couldn’t affect him, so he started to press forward with a power left jab. In the sixth round, Berlanga landed three consecutive monster right hands that hurt McCrory badly, and when he felt he had him, Berlanga landed the hammer right hand, which sent McCrory down and out.

Edgar Berlanga scored the knockout, so what’s the problem? 

Although Berlanga scored the knockout leading up to that moment, the fight wasn’t exciting. The crowd was getting antsy, and even some boos rained down throughout the ballroom before the vicious knockout. It’s been a problem since the Demond Nicholson fight in April 2021, in which the knockout streak ended and the holes in Berlanga’s game were also discovered. Those holes were further exposed when Berlanga fought Marcelo Coceres, Steve Rolls, Roamer Angulo, and Jason Quigley. All those fights went to the scorecards, and Berlanga looked far from a monster. This fight with McCrory was heading in the same direction as his last five fights until the knockout happened.

His performance was far from spectacular, and he did what he was supposed to do against an opponent who was 35 years old and had never shared the ring with a top-ten opponent. That fight should’ve ended a lot earlier, but Berlanga has been tentative in the last five fights when his level of competition was raised. Although Berlanga had a mediocre opponent in front of him, the WBA, in their infinite wisdom, found a way to make it a title eliminator. Which then makes Berlanga the mandatory challenger for Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez or does it?

Does Edgar Berlanga deserve a shot at Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez?

Berlanga has not proven he deserves a shot at Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, and he hasn’t fought the type of opponents that would sway the public opinion to agree with him. But leave it up to Berlanga to boost his profile more than what it really is. During the post-fight press conference, Berlanga pitched for a fight with the undisputed king.

“Puerto Rico vs. Mexico. I feel like it’s the biggest fight. Yea, I don’t have a belt, but I’m just a lot bigger than a lot of these guys at 168 as far, you know, my status. I’m big…I’m him. I feel like right now, that’s the fight to happen. I know he’s struggling to look for opponents, and I feel like we right there for him (Canelo).”

While Berlanga feels he’s the biggest name in the division, someone should whisper in his ear and tell him he’s not. Besides Canelo, you have the interim WBC champion David Benavidez, and the WBA regular champion David Morrell. Speaking of Morrell, he was in attendance, and if Berlanga should fight a champion, it should be him and not Canelo, if we are technically speaking.

The best fight that can be made for Berlanga is the Jaime Munguia one, but for some reason, they couldn’t agree on the purse splits. Maybe Team Berlanga will return to that fight, but for now, their focus is Canelo, a fight he does not deserve. Berlanga needs credible wins against credible guys before earning a shot at Canelo. Berlanga must first prove he is a draw at an arena and not a ballroom before even considering getting a shot at the undisputed crown. But this is boxing, and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, will likely charm his way into getting Canelo for Berlanga. It would not surprise me, but is it a fight fans would get excited over? We will have to see if the fight gets signed and what the fight fans’ reaction to it ends up being.