Eddie Hearn Defends Canelo's Choice of Berlanga, Dismisses Claims of Easy Match

Eddie Hearn insists Canelo Alvarez is not opting for a soft touch with his choice of Edgar Berlanga's September 14 title defense on September 14 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Matchroom promoter Hearn points out that Berlanga is similar to Canelo's former opponent, Jaime Munguia, and viewed it as a “fair fight” last May. He says Berlanga is a must for Canelo's WBA and is the best option available.

Berlanga: A Compelling Adversary, Not a Soft Touch

Berlanga was David Morrell's challenger to win his WBA 'standard' super middleweight title, but he didn't want to fight him for obvious reasons. Morrell would easily defeat Berlanga. Canelo inherited Berlanga as his WBA title after Morrell moved up to 175, but he didn't have to fight him if he didn't want to.

If Canelo didn't want Berlanga's fight, he would have ignored him like he did with David Benavidez who was forced into the WBC and William Scull of the IBF.

Hearn promoted Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs), so it wouldn't make sense for him to admit that Canelo deliberately picked an easy opponent for his September 14 fight. You wouldn't expect Hearn to take it like it is and say that Canelo picked a bad fighter with a bad record that doesn't match the title.

Hearn's Opinion: Canelo Never Gets Challenged

“I do not think so. Just before the Golovkin fight, he fought Dmitry Bivol, and he was beaten,” said Eddie Hearn speaking to Boxing News, reacting to being told that some fans feel that Canelo Alvarez is comparable to undefeated opponents.

When Canelo picked Bivol for a fight in 2022, Bivol had just fought Craig Richards and looked awful in that fight. Bivol won, but it was close, and he looked embarrassed. It is believed that Canelo chose Bivol because of the way he viewed Richards. If not, Canelo would have run away from him and avoided the loss.

“Before that he was fighting [40-year-old] Gennadiy Golovkin in the trilogy,” Hearn said of Canelo. Even with Jermell Charlo, everything is fine after the fact, but when the fight starts, and the undisputed 154-pounder goes up to 168, then suddenly, [Canelo] it wins easily, and it's a conflict.”

Fans on social media have been critical of Canelo for choosing to fight Jermell Charlo last year instead of defending against David Benavidez. They didn't recommend that pick, and few thought Jermell could win. The fans saw it as a cherry-pick, and that's what it was.

It was another example of Canelo fighting two opponents below him because he did it against Amir Khan in 2016. Next year, Canelo will likely face another two-division opponent when he fights Terence Crawford. Many believe that the fight is between Canelo and Crawford next year if they win their next fights.

“Jaime Munguia was very fast [when he fought Canelo],” Hearn said. “He stopped John Ryder. I don't see much disagreement between Jaime Munguia and Edgar Berlanga. That's an even fight, but Edgar Berlanga is the one [WBA] mandatory [for Canelo].”

Munguia was a fighter against average opposition during his 11-year career. The two best opponents Munguia fought before getting the Canelo fight last May were 38-year-old Sergiy Derevyanchenko and 35-year-old John Ryder. Those were B-level fighters when Munguia fought them. If he would have faced any guy back in 2016, he would have lost.

Some fans feel that Munguia's entire career was based on him fighting the opposition just to get the Canelo fight. Munguia was linked with Alvarez's name from the beginning as a possible future opponent.

Limited options for Canelo

“William Scull is the one [IBF] mandatory. It's a much better fight than William Scull,” Hearn said of Berlanga being better than Scull. “It's Mexico vs. Puerto Rico [for the Berlanga fight].”

Of course, Berlanga is a better choice than Canelo's Scull because he is from New York, has fans in the city, and was shown on ESPN and DAZN to the American public. Scull is the IBF's top-ranked champion thanks to victories over obscure opponents, and is based in Germany. Berlanga is still not a good option for Canelo, but he is better than Scull.

“Who else can Canelo Alvarez fight now besides David Benavidez?” Sizwe said. “For whatever reason, he's moved down to lightweight, so it doesn't look like it's happening.”

Hearn forgets David Morrell. Canelo could have fought him, but chose not to. Instead, Canelo chose Berlanga, and it's easy to see why.

“So, I think Edgar Berlanga is a good choice. I think he will fight well, and it will be a good event. But I don't see many other options out there for Canelo Alvarez, to be honest. One thing I can say about Canelo Alvarez is that he will never challenge. No one is afraid of him,” said Hearn.

Berlanga was chosen badly by Canelo, and his popularity has increased because he decided to fight him. Hearn is not willing to criticize the selection of Canelo and Berlanga because he is promoting the New Yorker, and this fight will bring in money. There won't be anything else for Berlanga because Canelo will blow him out of the water.

After Berlanga is defeated, Hearn can release him because he will have accomplished his goal. There will be no more big fights for Berlanga, and he will not be eligible to continue on Matchroom's salary. After losing to Canelo, Berlanga is hoping to face Caleb Plant, who is likely to lose.