By Robert Segal: Edgar Berlanga already has two fighters that he’d like to face next if he’s successful on Saturday night in his main event bout against Jason Quigley at Madison Square Garden in New York. Berlanga wants Jaime Munguia or WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight champion David Morrell Jr.
Promoter Eddie Hearn has mentioned using the money freed up by Canelo Alvarez signing a three-fight deal with PBC to try and get Genneadiy Golovkin for him to fight Berlanga (20-0, 16 KOs).
Hearn isn’t crazy enough to let Berlanga get anywhere near a talent like Morrell.
That’s one of those opponents where Hearn would throw out his name in a clout-chasing way and then turn around and match Berlanga against another Quigley-level fighter to keep him winning.
That would be a major step up in class for Berlanga to take on Golovkin, but who knows? The 41-year-old Golovkin may have aged enough for Berlanga to beat him.
Munguia (42-0, 33 KOs) would also be a formidable opponent because he can punch, and he’d stand in the pocket and throw down all night against Berlanga.
Hearn has got to do something to try and find a big-name opponent for Berlanga because Canelo won’t be available next year, and he may retire after his three-fight deal with PBC is done.
If things go bad for Canelo with him losing two or possibly all three of his fights with PBC, he’s got too much pride to hang around and let someone like Berlanga use him as a trial horse.
“Nah, he’s got that bag at PBC,” said Edgar Berlanga to the media today when asked if Canelo Alvarez signed with Premier Boxing Champions to ‘duck’ him. “He got the bag at PBC. God willing, we can [eventually] make the fight happen.
Berlanga isn’t going to get on the wrong side of Canelo by bad-mouthing him the way David Benavidez has done and wind up getting ignored permanently like him.
“Right now, I’m just focused on tomorrow night,” said Berlanga. “I know he’s just chasing the bag. He was never signed with DAZN or Matchroom. So he was going fight by fight. He’s at that level where he can do whatever he wants.
“Eddie is the man. We’re going to crossover and do it. I’ve got everybody here, and I’m just locked in. If I come out healthy tomorrow, I want a big fight with Munguia in October.
“That’s another thing. I’m trying to go to Puerto Rico too. There are no fights over there. When you’re born for this, the stars are aligned the right way. I’m happy to be here.
“Guys like me that come from New York from the trenches, it’s hard. I made it, bro. I’m blessed. I’m always doing something historical.
“We’re about to break #1 gate tomorrow, and then I’m going to go to the big house [Madison Square Garden big room]. We’re going to break that up too. We’re going to make history.
“Whatever. I’m down for it,” said Berlanga when asked if he could see himself fighting at Yankees Stadium in New York in the future. “Like I said, tomorrow night is a big night. So I’ve got to focus on him.
“I’ve heard there’s been a lot of back & forth going on. So my goal right now is to do my thing tomorrow night. Tomorrow and then we can talk about Canelo and Munguia. I feel that afteer I handle business tomorrow, I want the top dogs.
“Him too. I’m down for it. The s**t has got to make sense, and we can make it happen,” said Berlanga when asked if he’d be interested in fighting WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight champion David Morrell Jr. next.
