By Jim Calfa: Edgar Berlanga is in a situation where he must shine this Saturday night on June 24 in his return to the ring against Jason Quigley for him to strengthen his position in the Canelo Alvarez sweepstakes next year.
Promoter Eddie Hearn says the unbeaten super middleweight Berlanga (20-0, 16 KOs) is being hyped as the next Canelo must look good for him to move him to the next level against a top 15 contender and then a top 5 guy. The names that Hearn would like Berlanga to prove himself against after from this list:
- Gennadiy Golovkin
- Jaime Munguia
- John Ryder
Whether Hearn can get any of them for Munguia depends on how much he offers. Golovkin will have a high price tag, and it’s highly unlikely Golden Boy will allow the vulnerable Munguia to fight Berlanga.
Hearn recently signed the 168-lb contender Berlanga to his Matchroom Boxing stable, and he’s hoping to finish the development that his former promoters at Top Rank had started seven years ago in 2016.
They put the brakes on the progression of the 26-year-old Berlanga after he struggled badly when they moved him up against B-level opposition in 2021. Berlanga showed no signs of improvement after being matched against these second-tier fighters:
- Roamer Alexis Angulo
- Steve Rolls
- Marcelo Esteban Coceres
- Demond Nicholson
It’s unclear if Hearn is going to be able to improve Berlanga’s game enough for him to compete with the A-level guys at 168, but at the very least, he’ll put him in a fight where he’ll bring in a ton of money to Matchroom against Canelo next year, as long as he doesn’t get beaten before then.
“Yeah, we want to keep him active. Look, firstly, we’re hyping Edgar Berlanga up like he’s the new Canelo Alvarez,” said Eddie Hearn to the DAZN Boxing Show. “If he’s not, he’s going to be in for a very tough fight on Saturday night against Quigley.
“Quigley’s right up for it, and we know Quigley’s not an elite super middleweight, but he’s a world-class fighter. He’s going to have a lot of support in there. So let’s see what Edgar can show, and there’s also a lot of pressure.
“I mean, there was a lot of pressure on Regis [Prograis] on Saturday, you know? All of a sudden, all the promotion, the hype, the hometown fight, all this kind of stuff. So we’ll see if Edgar can rise to it. If he’s off, if he’s below par, he’ll struggle against Quigley, and if he struggles against Quigley, he’s not ready for the big names in the division.
“If he goes in and makes a statement and takes this guy out, then we can start looking at big fights towards in October, November, but I think we move him against a top 15 guy.
“If he [Berlanga] comes through him, we’ll test him against a top 10 top five guy, and then we want to push for that Canelo Alvarez fight next May. It’ll be a big fight, but he’s got to prove himself that he’s worthy of that.
“Listen, I also love Berlanga against Jaime Munguia. What a great fight that is. Yes, Berlanga against Gennady Golovkin and Berlanga against John Ryder.
“There are so many big fights out there for him to prove that he’s worthy of the Canelos and the Benavidezs and all those fights, but listen, this kid’s a star. You’re going to see a massive crowd on Saturday,” said Hearn about Berlanga.
