Edgar Berlanga is on a leisurely trip in Puerto Rico this weekend to support Amanda Serrano in her fight, but he’s making sure to keep his phone close by because Canelo Alvarez could come calling at any minute.
As negotiations intensify for a potential fight between Alvarez and Jaime Munguia, Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) insists that he’s very much still in the mix for a matchup against the Mexican star.
“We’re still in the Canelo sweepstakes. We’re frontrunners for this possible fight in May. We’re still cooking up for this fight to happen,” Berlanga told BoxingScene.com in an interview on Friday.
“His team wants to fight us. They want the fight. Canelo is the boss. He’s his own boss as a free agent. He’s the man at 168 and does what he wants. For a 100 per cent fact, I know he wants to fight us in May. Not to take any credit away from Munguia, because he’s a star himself, but me and Canelo fighting is a much bigger fight. I’m a star, and I have Puerto Rico behind me. That’s major for boxing. I’m the hottest thing smoking right now at 168. I’m coming off a huge knockout victory. I don’t have a title, but I have the popularity and the fame, and that brings in tons of money.
“It’s going to be a firefight. I’m ready to go out on my shield and put everything on the line. I’m not going in there for just a check. We both have a lot to lose, and I have a winner’s mentality.”
“The Chosen One” Berlanga has had a busy week.
On Feb. 24, Berlanga scored a sixth-round stoppage win against Padraig McCrory, further helping him get into position for a fight against Alvarez.
Berlanga’s knockout ended a streak of winning five fights via decision after starting his career with sixteen straight first-round knockouts.
Berlanga suffered a small cut near his right eye in the McCrory fight that required a single stitch to shut it.
By Monday, it was revealed that Alvarez and PBC had parted ways, thus increasing the Matchroom-DAZN affiliated Berlanga to inch even closer to potentially striking a deal.
Berlanga’s manager Keith Connolly, a BWAA manager of the year award winner, is working hard behind the scenes to strike a deal with Alvarez’s camp.
Berlanga said he would not have any issues making a quick turnaround for a May 4 fight against Alvarez.
The 26-year-old predicted the fight would also be a commercial success passing one million pay-per-view buys.
“This is the opportunity of a lifetime. I have everything it takes to be a superstar,” said Berlanga. “I don’t think there is an ounce of fear in him. I think he’s a warrior. He has that Mexican blood, so for a fact I know he’s not ducking [David] Benavidez. He just does what he wants to do, and any fighter at his level would be making the same moves as him doing whatever the f*** they want to do. I take my hat off to him. He paved his way.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.