In this conversation with TMZSports, Edgar Berlanga discusses his big upcoming fight against Canelo Alvarez, wanting to make a statement by grabbing the torch from him, and more. Check out some excerpts of what Berlanga had to say below.
Berlanga on whether Canelo’s boxing experience should give them pause about his chances to win
“Nah, I don’t think so. Remember, you got to understand he fought probably like 30 of his fights in Mexico. Like he fought a lot of guys in Mexico that was like selling oranges on the corner and stuff. He started his career in Mexico, if I would have started my career as a professional at 16, I would’ve been 60-0 myself right now, just ‘cause if you fight in Mexico you can fight every week if you want.
“I feel like right now, it’s my time. Everything is destined for me, for this moment, for this opportunity that I got, the time, everything is just — I’m destined right now to make history, September 14 and to become a legend that day, and to take over the sport of boxing and become the face.
“I feel like he did what he had to do in the sport of boxing, he a legend, but I think right now it’s my time. I feel like right now is our time to come over and just take over. It needs a new face at 168, you know what I’m saying.”
On if he’s going to try to knock Canelo into retirement
“Yeah, I want to definitely retire him, for sure. That’s my goal. And I’m not trying to disrespect him, he a legend, but at the end of the day we got to go in there and we got to fight, we got to tussle, and we got to do what we got to do.
“He’s been saying in his last three, four fights that he’s going to knock somebody out in the seventh round or eighth round and he never did that. I feel right now the sport of boxing needs a new face, they need excitement, they need knockouts, they need somebody that’s going to bring that energy into the sport of boxing…”