Berlanga Rules Out Caleb Plant; Wants Canelo Next – ‘He’s Food’
Edgar Berlanga has dismissed the idea of fighting Caleb Plant, as the main focus is Canelo Alvarez.
Berlanga is being mentioned alongside Canelo and Plant. Berlanga and Plant were present for Canelo’s weigh-in for the Jaime Munguia fight. They confronted each other during a verbal confrontation. As they squared up to each other, Belernga said: “He’s playing with my name. He’s disrespecting me—it’s personal now.”
Meanwhile, Plant hit back at Berlanga for disrespecting his legacy. Plant is a former IBF Super Middleweight Champion, while Berlanga has yet to win a world title. Plant replied: “He is the one disrespecting my skills and my legacy – it’s him making this personal.” That could have set the narrative for a fight.
Berlanga Vs. Plant
Caleb is known for getting involved in confrontations to build up fights. During a face-off with Canelo, Plant moved to slap him. Alvarez avoided the slap and countered with one of his own, resulting in a cut near Caleb’s eye. Plant did something fiery for his David Benavidez fight in their presser. He mentioned Benavidez’s prior positive test for cocaine while also buying the domain davidbenavidez.com to sell his own merchandise.
Plant also slapped Jermall Charlo during the weigh-in for the Errol Spence Jr. vs. Terence Crawford fight. Plant accused Charlo of pulling his beard and disrespecting his wife, causing him to slap Charlo. Plant also threw a drink at Ryan Garcia during the Gervonta Davis vs. Frank Martin fight. That was after Garcia disrespected Plant’s wife after Caleb called out Ryan’s failed positive tests for Ostarine. While those incidents did generate talking points, it was not enough to make a fight. The same can be said for a Berlanga fight, as the Puerto Rican has no plans to fight Plant.
“He is easy work. He’s food. I’m not even worried about him. He on the back burner. He already got beat up twice, and he went about it the wrong way. I’m on to bigger things. I’m the mandatory for Canelo. We not [Jermall] Charlo. We from New York. I’m about to make that bag. I’m going to beat him,” Berlanga said
What’s Next?
Berlanga is likely to fight Canelo next. Alvarez agreed on a deal to face his IBF Super Middleweight Mandatory William Scull to avoid getting stripped. However, reports indicate that it is a step-aside deal. That would allow Canelo to target a Berlanga fight for Mexican Independence Day.
The huge Mexican fanbase and Berlanga’s fanbase from Puerto Rico has all the ingredients for a big event. If Canelo desires the big guarantees that he wants, he needs a dance partner who can sell. Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn, who represents Berlanga, was confident about making a fight.
“I can’t in a million years believe they’re going to fight Scull. I would think that it’s a deal to step aside. I’m sure there’s a lot of conversations with Canelo Alvarez all around the world. I’m not really involved in those other than a potential fight with Edgar Berlanga, which there have been some murmurs of. There are no negotiations on that fight.
“Obviously, he’s under contract with us. He’s a Matchroom fighter. It’s a great fight. I think there’s a chance Canelo could fight Berlanga in September. We’ll wait for the call. It’s a fight that could take place in Saudi Arabia. I know His Excellency would like to make Canelo-Crawford. So, is there a pre-plan? I’m not involved in those discussions, but I will be if Edgar Berlanga gets the pick,” Hearn said
Comments
Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.
