Edgar Berlanga Rejects Canelo’s ‘Survival’ Narrative And Vows To Earn A Rematch Through Sheeraz And Munguia

Edgar Berlanga blasted Canelo Alvarez for saying that he fought to “survive” in their fight last September in Las Vegas. Super middleweight contender Berlanga (23-1, 18 KOs) had a different version of how his fight with Canelo played out.

Edgar claims the “fans were going crazy” during the fight, and that the “12th round was insane.” The 12th was the only round in which Berlanga put out any effort. He looked scared through most of the fight.

Since that loss, Berlanga finished out his contract with Matchroom, knocking out an unknown fighter in the first round. He’s now signed a one-fight deal with Turki Alalshikh to fight Hamzah Sheeraz on July 12th. It’s rumored to be staged at Central Park in New York City.

Berlanga says he wants the Canelo Alvarez rematch. He states that after he beats Sheeraz, he wants Jaime Munguia. Following those two fights, Berlanga believes he will have earned the rematch against Alvarez.

Berlanga’s Defense

“You know who was surviving? [Jermell] Charlo was surviving,” said Edgar Berlanga to Fighthype, reacting to Canelo Alvarez saying that he was just trying to survive against him and not win last September. “For me to be out there surviving and get hit with a shot in the third round. Get up, look at my coach, and shake it off and take it to him.”

Who is Berlanga kidding? He was clearly just trying to survive from round 1 to 11. The only time he fought hard and went on the attack was in the 12th, and he looked good in that round against a tired and much smaller Canelo. Berlanga reportedly rehydrated to 193 lbs, and he looked like a cruiserweight fighting a super middleweight. Even with his massive size advantage, Berlanga fought to survive. It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t want to admit it. The fans saw it and he’s been widely criticised ever since.

“I was talking s*** to him the whole fight. It was kind of disrespect. We had the fans going crazy,” said Berlanga. “The 12th round was insane. So, for him to sit here and say I was trying to survive. He can’t f*** with me, and I was at 50%. I was taking cortisone shots and all that s*** for that fight for my arm.”

Fans aren’t buying Berlanga’s injury excuse, as that’s what a lot of fighters do after they lose. Rather than own up to not being good enough, they come up with an injury narrative in a desperate attempt to keep fans from abandoning them. Berlanga was using his right arm a lot, and didn’t appear to be favoring it.

Chasing Canelo

“I really fought him at 50%. I never used it as an excuse,” said Berlanga. “I went in there and I performed, but I think we [Canelo] got to run that back. I think I got to focus on July 12th, whoever we’re up against. They’re saying Sheeraz. If it’s him, we knock him down. I want to fight Munguia. I want to knock Munguia the f*** out., and then we going on to Canelo.”

It’s going to take a lot more than beating Hamzah Sheeraz and Jaime Munguia for Berlanga to get a rematch with Canelo. He’s going to need to beat some actual talents, like David Benavidez, David Morrell, Osleys Iglesias and Christian Mbilli. He’s not going to get that rematch, beating the recently knocked out Munguia and Hamzah.

“Now, after that Canelo fight and having 20,000 Mexicans boo me, I don’t give a f***. I can got to London and fight a guy from his hometown with 100,000. I don’t give a f***. I got comfortable with people hating on me, booing me,” said Berlanga.

Edgar is basically saying that he likes to be a villain and be hated. However, there’s only so far a fighter can go with the role if they’re unable to beat the elite-level or even A-level opposition.

Working with Turki

“We just did a one-fight deal, but we’re looking forward to doing some amazing things,” said Berlanga about signing a one-fight deal with Turki Alalshikh to fight Hamzah Sheeraz on July 12th in New York. “That’s what they’re saying. That’s the rumors,” said Berlanga when asked if the fight on July 12th will be at Central Park in New York.

“You know Turki. He’ll put me in a fight on top of the Empire State building. People laughed at me that I was fighting in the co-main event [against Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz], not knowing that we had this all set up, everything set up. Every move I make is a power move. People don’t understand that.

“I took that co-main event. Matchroom put me in a co-main event. They didn’t want to give me a main event in Puerto Rico. We had the date, March 8th. I was supposed to fight in the main event [against rumored opponent Gabe Rosado] in front of 18,000 people. I had the whole Puerto Rico focused on that date. Fast forward. Look where we’re at now,” said Berlanga.