Edgar Berlanga says he’s got to look sensational against Padraig McCrory this Saturday, February 24th, live on DAZN, to get a chance to fight against undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez next.
#1 WBO Berlanga (21-0, 16 KOs) is fighting McCrory (18-0, 9 KOs) in the main event in a 12-round fight at the Caribe Royale Orlando, Orlando, Florida.
This fight is an odd duck, as Berlanga is being matched against another little-known opponent in 35-year-old McCrory, who has been obscure opposition his entire seven-year professional career.
Fans on social media feel that McCrory is not nearly a good enough opponent for Berlanga to rate a title shot against Canelo if he’s victorious. This fight is similar to Berlanga’s last one against Jason Quigley.
Berlanga’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, is matching him against another Irish fighter rather than putting him in with a dangerous guy, like WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight champion David Morrell Jr., who would likely readily agree to give the New Yorker a title shot.
Obviously, Hearn isn’t naive and he knows what would happen with Berlanga is he threw him in with Morrell. That vision of landing a big Canelo payday fight for Berlanga before his contract expires with Matchroom would be finished for good. That’s who Berlanga SHOULD be fighting now if he wanted to earn a fight against Canelo.
Face Morrell, and if Berlanga is good enough, he improves his chances of fighting Canelo. But for Berlanga to be fighting the 35-year-old McCrory, this is just another gimme, a lateral move from his last fight against Jason Quigley last June, and he looked awful in that clash.
Berlanga made Quigley look good, laboring to a dull 12-round unanimous decision and getting shaken by a fighter that Demetrius Andrade destroyed in two rounds in 2021.
“I got to really perform my a** off in this fight. I’ve got to make a statement. I’ve got to do my thing in this fight and really look phenomenal, and I feel that right there should be an opener for a fight with Canelo in 2024,” said Edgar Berlanga to Manouk Akopyan’s YouTube channel.
“I know he [Canelo] has all the titles, but I’m young. One thing I have is an Island behind me. I got Puerto Rico. So, I think it’s based on how I look in my next fight [against 35-year-old Padraig McCrory]. I’m looking forward to dominating this dude, beating him up, and doing my thing, and eventually, that’ll open up doors for us in 2024 against Canelo Alvarez.
“People say that the first 16, first-round knockouts were a curse, but it was actually a blessing,” said Berlanga, who started his career with sixteen straight first-round knockout wins, albeit against terribly weak opposition, and has failed to knock out any of his last five opponents.
