WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight titleholder David Morrell 10-0 (9) says he would wipe the floor with Edgar Berlanga 22-0 (17) is they ever fought.
The 26-year-old Berlanga, who was born in Brooklyn, New York to Puerto Rican heritage, scored a sixth-round knockout of Ireland’s Padraig McCrory 18-1 (9) at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida on Saturday night.
Cuban southpaw Morrell, 26, was ringside to support his countryman Andy Cruz 3-0 (1) who pitched a 10-round shutout over Mexican southpaw Brayan Zamarripa 14-3 (5) on the undercard.
Morrell has long been looking for a quality dance partner to showcase just how good he really is and perhaps Berlanga is the man to do that.
“He’s a good fighter, but easy money. He’s easy money for me,” Morrell said to Fighthype. “I knock him out, easy money for me. I tell you, everybody, I tell you now, that’s easy money for me. I’m the best at 168. I’m ready. I’m ready for this guy. I have everything.
“Man, you don’t see? You know, he’s not ready for me. Congratulations to Berlanga. It was a good fight.”
If Morrell had his way, he would be challenging undisputed 168-pound champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez 60-2-2 (39) next.
The 33-year-old Mexican superstar is yet to announce an opponent for his May date, but he has let it slip that he will be facing an American.
The boxer most fans and pundits would like Alvarez to face is undefeated 27-year-old contender David Benavidez 28-0 (24) from Phoenix, Arizona.
Morrell says he wouldn’t hesitate to accept a fight with either of them.
“I’m ready. Benavidez doesn’t want to fight me. Canelo doesn’t want to fight me, too,” he said.
It seems far more realistic that Morrell could face Benavidez next rather than Alvarez for a number of reason. Morrell doesn’t have the sort of profile with the broader boxing public that would be required to make the Alvarez fight, despite his obvious skillset.
And with Benavidez all but being ruled out of clash with Alvarez himself, he will be looking for a dance partner. The winner of Morrell vs Benavidez would emerge as the favourite to face Alvarez in September.
Last week Alvarez’s trainer and manager Eddy Reynoso explained their position on Benavidez.
“The fight with Benavidez may take a while or maybe never happen, but it depends on many things,” Reynoso told ESPNmx.
“There were fights that never took place, that of Lennox Lewis with Riddick Bowe, that of Julio Cesar Chavez with Terry Norris, that of Erik Morales with Juan Manuel Márquez, and none of them stopped going to the Hall of Fame for that.
“There were others [fights] that, although they took time, ended up being made, like that of Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Among the fighters, there is no fear. We just hope that the conditions are met [to face Benavidez].”
