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Edgar Berlanga may laud what Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has accomplished, but he says all respect will go out the window when the two meet on Sept. 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
This isn’t to say that Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) is underestimating the Mexican superstar ahead of their super middleweight unification bout. But unlike prior opponents Jaime Munguia and Jermell Charlo, whom Berlanga believes were too reverent of the super middleweight king, Berlanga says he’s coming to win.
That much was apparent when the war of words began during a recent press tour to announce their Mexican Independence Day Weekend headliner, with things heating up in Los Angeles. While Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) promised an emphatic eighth-round knockout win, Berlanga, 27, vowed to utilize his ring IQ to upset the Mexican superstar.
“I saw a maricón,” Berlanga said of their heated face-off. “And he knows he didn’t see no fear [in me]. He knows he saw himself. You know how Tony Montana says in the movie ‘Scarface,’ the eyes never lie? You never saw me looking around. I looked straight, right into his soul. I saw everything in his body. When I went to L.A. and he had 100 guys with him, and it was only five of us, I kept that same energy in his face. I don’t fear any man at all.”
Berlanga is leaving no stone unturned in his preparation for Alvarez, moving camp from New York to Colorado. The Brooklyn-born Boricua says he began training well before the fight was announced and has only increased the intensity since.
“This is the first time being away this far from home, logging and being in the mountains and stuff,” Berlanga told BoxingScene. “I just wanted to put in a little bit more. We’re facing a legend, he’s in the mountains, so that’s why I wanted to be in the mountains.
“We’re not going to find a guy that fights just like Canelo, but we got guys in the gym that have experience, the same height, that are strong and come forward and that also sort of mimic the things that he does in the ring. That’s the type of sparring [trainer Mark Farrait] is bringing in. We’re not bringing in guys who don’t listen. They got to follow what we want to do – what Canelo is going to be doing on Sept. 14.”
Berlanga has also re-enlisted the help of strength and conditioning coach Ángel “Memo” Heredia.
“This is our second fight together. He’s a great strength and conditioning coach,” said Berlanga. “He’s a great human being, too. We brought him on board my last fight. He definitely came in and helped us with a lot of strength and fine-tuned a lot of other things for my performance. I need to be explosive. It’s going well, man.”
Even so, Canelo remains a significant favorite to retain his unified 168-pound belts. Berlanga says that while Canelo is great, he isn’t invincible – and at age 34, with 65 pro fights, he is past his best.
“The jab is his kryptonite, and that’s what’s going to be in his face the whole night. A great jab,” Berlanga said. “He loads up on his punches too much. He’s not the old Canelo we saw at 154, the one who used to throw a lot of combinations. Now, the maximum number of punches he throws is maybe two – jab and a right hook, double jab and uppercut. But he’s throwing them hard because he wants to beat up on your shoulders and your arms so that later on you let your guard down and he starts hitting your face. He likes to throw a lot of good body shots as well. We’re ready for that.”
Alvarez is a significant step up for Berlanga. After winning his first 16 bouts via first-round KO, Berlanga went the distance in his subsequent five bouts before scoring a sixth-round KO over Padraig McCrory last February. A win over a legend would not only be a huge upset but perhaps the greatest win for Puerto Rico in its rivalry with Mexico.
“I’ll be a legend after I beat Canelo,” Berlanga declared. “I’ll be the king of Puerto Rico forever. Me having my first title shot for three belts versus a guy that was an undisputed Mexican legend. He’s a superstar, so if I beat him, it’s over, man. We got to walk through him on Sept. 14. I got to break his will.”
Many fight fans remain unconvinced, something Berlanga is all too aware of.
“I don’t pay any mind to people’s opinions. Just keep writing me off. I’m used to people doubting me and saying I’m going to get knocked out. That’s just going to make the victory even sweeter. That’s gonna make the celebration even bigger and that’s going to shake the whole boxing world come Sept. 14.”
Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at bernardneequaye@gmail.com.