Promoter Eddie Hearn is speaking positively of Edgar Berlanga’s loss to Canelo Alvarez, suggesting he is still the second favorite in the super middleweight division following a “competitive” loss last Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Hearn says Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs) has “frustrated” unified super middleweight champion Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) at times with his ring IQ. Canelo was frustrated, but for a different reason than Berlanga’s ring IQ. He was offended by the headbutts, low blows, rabbit fists, and illegal straight arms used by Berlanga.
It seemed like Berlanga just lived through the night and didn’t really fight until the 12th round. In some rounds, Berlanga seemed afraid to throw his power shots because he was afraid of being counted again by Canelo. After Berlanga was knocked down in the third round, he played it safe, throwing mostly runs.
Casual boxing fans celebrated Berlanga afterwards because he was knocked out, but they didn’t understand that he was trying to survive but not trying to win. He was there to play 12 rounds.
Matchroom promoter Hearn tries to paint a false picture that Berlanga fought in a heroic manner, but that is simply not true. He hasn’t been as impressive as Canelo’s previous opponent, Jaime Munguia, who fought hard and actually won four rounds last May. Munguia became more courageous.
“He never looked out of his depth there. We lost well to a legend, but it was always a competitive round,” said Eddie Hearn in a press conference after the fight, praising his fighter Edgar Berlanga after his loss to Canelo Alvarez.
It was only competitive because Canelo didn’t have the size or the fuel tank to finish Berlanga due to his massive 6’1″, 193-lb frame at the time of the fight. If Canelo’s condition had been better, he would have knocked out Berlanga in the fourth round because he was the one who should have been stopped if he was able to combine punches instead of landing one shot.
“For me, it was ticking boxes. Impenetrable chin. He took all of Canelo Alvarez’s armor shots. The knockdown was a stunning left hook. It was kind of a downer. “He wasn’t really hurt during the fight,” said Hearn.
Berlanga’s weight of 193 lbs is the reason why he took Canelo’s punches. When a light heavyweight takes on a super middleweight, he can handle his layers much better than when he competes in his natural weight class.
If you stick with Berlanga and light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev, we will see how good his chin is. It is obvious that Berlanga will never fight Beterbiev because his management is determined to put him in with someone who will knock him down and cut off the spigot from the oil well that pumps that black gold.
“Even when he was knocked down, he came back and fired back, people loved him. “His ring IQ, we knew it was better than what people expected, it was good and it hurts Canelo Alvarez sometimes,” said Hearn.
Berlanga got up in the third round and took punishment for the rest of the fight, playing it safe. He used a lot of illegal tactics that annoyed Canelo, that’s why he’s tired of him.
“As I told him before. He has protected all his life [with millions] and his family’s life forever at such a young age, and it’s just the beginning because right now, you have to say he’s No. 1 in the division outside of Canelo Alvarez, and he’s got some big fights,” Hearn said. about Berlanga.
Berlanga is more popular with his fans in New York City than some of his competitors in the 168-lb division, but he lags far behind in the talent department. However, Berlanga is not really a true super middleweight. He is a light heavyweight moving up to 168 to compete with smaller fighters.
Berlanga is like another David Benavidez weight class, but with less talent, more self-improvement. [Read: out of touch braggart]and has a short shelf life. He needs more protection than Benavidez.
“I feel like he’s a new player because we knew he was a big star before, but now I feel like we’ve got big stars in this division. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun going back and forth,” Hearn said.
When Hearn says “comeback,” that’s code for softer opponents like the ones he’s matched up against to build his 22-0 record to earn Canelo’s payday. Hearn is selling a fake product to the public, trying to make it look better than it is. Berlanga is the equivalent of fool’s gold, and only naive fans believe that he is the real deal of 24k gold.
Berlanga is not a new star, and Hearn won’t be able to turn him into a stable money driver, like a fuel source pumping black gold for years. Besides protecting Berlanga by matching him with a soft team that fans don’t enjoy seeing, he will lose if Hearn matches him with a good team.
When I say, ‘Good,’ I’m not talking about Caleb Plant, Diego Pacheco, Jaime Munguia, and Christian Mbilli. Berlanga will lose to those guys. If Hearn puts Berlanga in with a top striker like David Benavidez, David Morrell, or Osleys Inglesias, he will be outclassed.
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