Promoter Oscar De La Hoya wants to see WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight champion David Morrell Jr. defend against his newly installed mandatory Edgar Berlanga next.
De La Hoya Voices Support
The World Boxing Association made Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) the mandatory to Morrell Jr’s WBA ‘regular’ 168-lb following his sixth-round knockout win over Padraig McCrory last Saturday night in Orlando, Florida.
“I want to see Morrell vs. Berlanga. What do you guys think?” said Oscar De La Hoya on X about a fight that he would like to see next between WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight champion David Morrell Jr. and his mandatory challenger Edgar Berlanga.
Edgar is mandatory for Morrell Jr’s belt, and it would make sense for him to take that fight to try and capture the Cuban talent’s WBA ‘regular’ belt. Morrell has already volunteered to give Berlanga a title shot next, so it’s up to him if he wants to take the match or sit and wait on Canelo.
Berlanga had mistakenly thought he had earned the mandatory to challenge WBA ‘Super World’ super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez, and he even told the media at the post-fight press conference that he’d just become Alvarez’s mandatory.
Berlanga Shuns Morrell Challenge
Little did the 26-year-old Berlanga know that he’d been made the mandatory to Morrell Jr, not Canelo. When Berlanga was asked at the post-fight press conference if he would fight Morrell (10-0, 9 KOs) next, he said he wasn’t interested.
Berlanga might not get a shot at Canelo anytime soon if every because the Mexican superstar is negotiating for a fight against Jaime Munguia next on May 4th. If Canelo wins that fight, he will have pressure on him to fight other high-caliber opposition.
DAZN isn’t likely going to win to give the green light for Canelo to defend against Berlanga, knowing that fans won’t want to purchase it, and there will be a ton of complaints about the match.
Berlanga needs to prove himself first by challenging Morrell for his WBA ‘regular’ belt, and then, if he wins, he can push for the Canelo fight. The problem that Berlanga has is he either wants easy matched against cans like McCrory and Jason Quigley or big money matches against Canelo and Munguia.