By Charles Brun: Edgar Berlanga says he’d be open to a fight against John Ryder or Jaime Munguia next if he successfully gets past Jason Quigley tonight in their 12-round headliner at the Hula Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.
When asked whether he’d be interested in fighting Ryder (32-6, 18 KOs), Berlanga (20-0, 16 KOs) said he would. He likes the idea of facing opposition that has an entire country behind them, as would be the case against Ryder.
Eddie Hearn will likely be overjoyed at hearing Berlanga express interest in fighting the recently beaten Ryder because he promotes the 34-year-old, and it would be an opportunity to put him in a position to earn a rematch with Canelo Alvarez.
The fight that Berlanga seems to want the most is against Munguia (42-0, 33 KO), but given the feud that Hearn has with Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions, it’s a long hot that we’ll see a Berlanga-Munguia fight next.
De Hoya might make the fight if he was dead certain that Munguia would win, but even then, it’s difficult to imagine him wanting to work with Hean. If Berlanga crushes Quigley tonight, you can probably forget about De La Hoya agreeing to let Munguia fight the New Yorker.
The 26-year-old Berlanga also says he’d like to fight David Benavidez or David Morrell Jr.
However, Hearn isn’t expected to make either of those fights because he’s still hoping to match Edgar against Canelo a year from now when his new three-fight contract with PBC expires.
Putting Berlanga in with Benavidez or Morrell would be Hearn sending the message that he doesn’t see a fight with Canelo ever happening because he’ll get wiped out by both of them.
Berlanga wants the big dogs next
“Definitely. I like to fight guys with countries behind them. I feel like there’s more of a build-up fight,” said Berlanga to iFL TV when asked if he’d like to fight John Ryder next if he’s successful tonight against Jason Quigley.
“He’s got his fight to focus on in September, and I got my fight to focus on,” said Berlanga about his thoughts on Canelo Alvarez signing with PBC for three fights.
“You got the bigger dogs that are big, just like him. You got Munguia. That’s a big fight. Benavidez, and the list can go on. I’m just focused [on Quigley], but I know all these big fights are on the horizon for sure.
“When you fight guys that don’t rep their countries that much, it’s sort of a boring thing,” Berlanga continued. “But when you have a guy like Quigley, Munguia, Canelo, these types of guys bring in their fan base; they bring their crew and their team out. It’s a bigger fight.
“I told him this is my house. This is my s**t. He’s going to feel that tomorrow. He’s doing a lot of talking. Like I always do, I let my hands do the talking. It’s going to be a great fight,” said Berlanga when asked what he said to Quigley during the face-off at the weigh-in.
It’s just business for Edgar
“I’m just excited. I don’t hate the guy. I’m just going in and doing business,” Berlangas said. “I’m just excited to have him step up to the plate with his Irish family, his team, and his country going up against ys, Puerto Rico. I’m just happy,” said Berlanga.
“Quigley is a tough guy. I know he’s not soft. I know he’s coming to fight. He’s got the Irish blood in him. He’s not going to back down. I know it’s going to be fireworks for sure.
“I’m not going in there worried about doing a toe-to-toe thing. I’m going in there to show my skills. This is what I need. I need to go in there and show my skills and my growth as a fighter. Being that I took a year off, a lot of people want to see something different.
“They want to see the power, yes. They want to see the jab, the good leg movement, and the good defense. So that is all going to be incorporated,” said Berlanga.
