By Dan Ambrose: Edgar Berlanga has three offers on the table that he will be deciding on in the next 48 hours to choose his next promoter.
The 25-year-old unbeaten, highly ranked super middleweight contender Berlanga (20-0, 16 KOs) has already met with Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing and Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy to discuss potentially signing with them. He also spoke to Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Berlanga, 25, says he’d like to get back in the ring and get his feet wet, fighting someone like Gary O’Sullivan, John Ryder & Jaime Munguia, and then face Canelo Alvarez.
For Berlanga to get fast-tracked for the Canelo fight, Berlanga will likely need to sign with Hearn because joining his Matchroom stables gives him the best shot at getting the fight against the Mexican star.
Fighting Demetrius Andrade, Ali Akhmedov, Diego Pacheco, Liam Smith, Jermall Charlo, Gennadiy Golovkin, or Janibek Alimkhanuly would arguably be better options for Berlanga than fighting John Ryder.
Berlanga to decide in next 48 hours
“I feel like I’m ready for that step up to get those big fights,” said Edgar Berlanga to DAZN Boxing Show. “People say I got dropped. I didn’t get dropped. We just parted ways,” Berlanga said about his split with Top Rank.
DECISIONS 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔 https://t.co/ExIFcc7eAb
— Edgar Berlanga Jr (@EdgarBerlangaJr) February 12, 2023
“It was a shocker,” Berlanga said when asked his thoughts about Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions and Eddie Hearn wanting to sign him. “I always knew I was a star. When you’re winning in life, you’re always going to have haters. That just comes with the territory.
“I’m just happy to be in this position. A lot of people thought that when I parted ways with Top Rank, it was over for me, but that wasn’t the case. I feel like my career is starting now. Two days after, Floyd Mayweather reached out as well. He wanted to blow me up and make me a star. It was a blessing.
“We had different ideas,” said Berlanga about Top Rank. “They had certain ways they wanted to do things, and we had certain ways we wanted to do things. That’s the reason we’re here now. You got Al Haymon, who has a lot of the 168 fighters,” Berlanga said.
If Berlanga signs with PBC, he would have potential fights against David Benavidez, Jermall Charlo, Caleb Plant, and Demetrius Andrade. Those fights won’t pay Berlanga the same kind of money as a match against Canelo. Also, the chances of Berlanga losing to those fighters would be high.
Edgar wants Canelo fight
“Then you’ve got DAZN, and they’ve got Canelo,” Berlanga continued. “That’s the fight everybody obviously wants. People can say I’m not ready. For me, that’s just the critics. In my next fight coming up, I want to wet my feet a little bit from the layoff that I had. From there, get a big fight.
“I do feel Eddie Hearn has a lot of stables as well. Who offers the best deal. The numbers got to make sense,” said Berlanga when asked who he’ll be signing with. The match-making has got to make sense, and the way we want to be moved has got to make sense for my team and myself.
“People thought I was over here panicking, but I’m just kicking back with my legs up, just chilling. We’re going to wait for these offers to come in this week and then we can go on from there. For me, it’s the WBC or WBO, whichever one comes. Whichever one is the mandatory for that, I’m willing to take,” Berlanga said.
Ryder or O’Sullivan could be next for Berlanga
“For me, my next fight, a guy like John Ryder, or a guy like Gary O’Sullivan, a guy to get my feet wet and then move on and possibly get the Canelo fight,” said Berlanga when asked who he’d like to fight. “Fight another fight, a Munguia, and then fight Canelo.
“You got Benavidez out there, who is a beast. Caleb Plant. You got GGG. He’s a beast. No, not yet,” said Berlanga when asked if people have seen the best of him. I’m just moving at my pace. I’m going to knock when the time is right, and I’m going to be ready for these big fights. I fought last year in my last two fights, I fought injured.
“Last year, we wanted the John Ryder fight. We wanted to make the fight happen. Yeah, it was pretty much that,” Berlanga said when asked when he started having disagreements with Top Rank. “This was after my last fight [in June 2022 against Roamer Alexis Angulo].
“Right now, I’m in a position where I can get these types of fights. Right now, for me, it’s about legacy and also the money,” said Berlanga when asked why he didn’t agree with Top Rank’s choice to try and match him against Jesse Hart,” Berlanga said.
No ducking going on
“I don’t duck no smoke. I come from the trenches,” said Berlanga. “I came from the projects. I’m a kid that came from the mud. I’m not ducking nobody. It’s got to make sense. We wanted a much bigger fight. So people out there Tweeting and going on social saying I’m ducking a certain person, and that’s not the case.
“Actually, I wanted to fight somebody way above his [Jesse Hart] level, a guy like John Ryder, who is going to fight Canelo next. Yeah, it’s about that dough,” said Berlanga when asked if he would have taken thee fight with Hart if Top Rank had offered him a lot of money.
“Obviously, a guy like him, we ain’t going to get this. John Ryder, he wanted the fight. He got London, and I got Puerto Rico. He’s about to fight Canelo. If I beat him, then I’m in a position to potentially get a match against Canelo.
“I got a whole country behind me. So I’m looking at it like a businessman, just like Canelo is doing, just like Floyd. You look for the good fights, the big fights, and then you make that money,” said Berlanga.