IF WE are counting scores within the Canelo Alvarez-Edgar Berlanga pre-fight shenanigans, then the Mexican is approach forward, and it’s not even half-time but.
The 2 super-middleweights met in Beverly Hills yesterday to advertise their upcoming bout on September 14 on the T-Cell Area in Las Vegas. Berlanga introduced his Puerto Rican pleasure and a mixture of bullishness and bravado that attempted its greatest to unsettle the undisputed quantity one of many 12-stone division.
Canelo would have been content material to hold out his media obligations with Berlanga respectfully and cordially earlier than settling their enterprise within the ring and sharing an embrace afterwards. Berlanga needs none of that, nevertheless. The 34-year-old champion laughed off his makes an attempt to intimidate a person seven years older than him and who has fought almost 3 times extra.
“You hit like my son,” Canelo advised him at yesterday’s press convention. The response got here after Berlanga had poked and poked with verbal jabs. His personal retaliatory remarks have been X-rated, proving that Canelo has the higher hand, not simply within the ring.
Canelo then predicted that he would defeat his newest opponent in eight rounds.
“I’m not going to have compassion,” he mentioned.
He too wasn’t wanting a curse phrase himself and was completely happy to have interaction in Berlanga’s foolish video games. The reality is Berlanga was being laughed at. These have been moments that might have been watched by fingers should you have been a part of his workforce. As a result of, the reality is that the 27-year-old is likely one of the weakest challengers to get the chance to face Canelo and earn thousands and thousands within the course of.
“I don’t wish to f**ok you up proper now as a result of your cash can be gone,” the champion added.
Berlanga can’t be blamed for touchdown a struggle that’s coming far too quickly for him. His profession has folded into two tales. The primary being that of a younger, assured Puerto Rican knockout expertise whose first 15 opponents by no means reached the second spherical. The second is of a fighter who has gone the space six instances in his final seven fights when the competitors has been stepped up – however to not a degree that may very well be described as world-class.
Six months in the past, Berlanga completed his second consecutive Irish opponent – Padraig McCrory – within the sixth spherical. It didn’t take lengthy earlier than Berlanga was the WBA obligatory challenger to Canelo’s world title. One other win for the way boxing rankings work.
Canelo will not be with out blame, both. Certain, he has an obligation to fulfil his mandatories and was stripped of his IBF world title as an alternative of going through their very own obligatory challenger, William Scull. Berlanga bought the nod as a result of it’s going to, on the very least, do extra pay-per-view numbers and renew the historic Mexico-Puerto Rico rivalry which we’ll all be reminded of by broadcasters within the days and weeks to come back.
Nobody wished to see both struggle. What they need is what they won’t get, and that’s Canelo towards David Benavidez—a struggle that the Mexican won’t entertain except he’s paid $200 million {dollars}. Canelo cites the burden benefit that Benavidez would have come struggle night time as a threat—in his eyes—and views the astronomical determine as a simply reward.
Come September 14, when Canelo places his three world titles on the road, there can be little threat. Pundits can be decreased to, “All it takes is one punch” and physique language observers might discover one thing to placed on social media.
Yesterday, Canelo toyed with the inexperienced Berlanga and made him look a bit foolish and in simply over 5 weeks’ time he’ll do the identical when the phrases are changed by punches.