Promoter Eddie Hearn is adamant that Edgar Berlanga 22-0 (17) is ready for a shot at undisputed super middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez 60-2-2 (39).
Brooklyn’s Berlanga, 26, who comes from 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.
The fight start slowly before Berlanga found his range and landed a big right hand to close the show.
It was Berlanga’s first stoppage victory in more than three years following a 16-fight run of first-round knockouts to begin his career.
“I thought it was a great performance, exactly what he needed,” Matchroom Boxing boss Hearn told Boxing Social.
“Paddy is a tall, strong 168-pounder who lets his hands fly. The first two rounds were slow, and then Edgar got into it. Padraig took some big shots in the third and fourth and then it was a brutal stoppage, great knockout, big statement. [Berlanga is now the] WBA number one mandatory challenger for the world title, so great night for Edgar Berlanga.”
Mexican superstar Alvarez, 33, holds the WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine championships at 168-pounds. He is yet to announce his opponent for his next fight in May.
“Anything but an impressive stoppage was not good enough tonight,” Hearn continued.
“Respect to Paddy, but if we’re talking about [fighting Jaime] Munguia [next], we’re talking about Canelo, you’ve got to be destroying people like Padraig McCrory, and he did that and he did it in style. And I think he gained a few believers tonight.”
While lobbying for an Alvarez fight, Hearn admitted that Berlanga is far from the finished product.
“Still a long way to go,” Hearn said. “But now we’ve got that number one position with the WBA, he’s going to get his shot. And whether that’s in May or September or in May of 2025, it’s going to come.
“Canelo Alvarez is a special talent. When you’re talking about mixing it up at super middleweight… Jaime Munguia, absolutely. [David] Benavidez, great fighter, yes I believe he can.
“[Caleb] Plant, [Jermall] Charlo, absolutely.
“Canelo? It’s the ultimate challenge and everyone wants the ultimate challenge. It’s Puerto Rico against Mexico, it’s the mandatory challenger, and I promise you this, when Edgar gets his shot against Canelo, he will fight fire with fire. He won’t try to survive, he won’t take a payday, he won’t run around the ring, he will come to fight Canelo Alvarez.
“If he gets knocked out, respect. But he will bring the fans a firefight and I think that’s what Canelo wants now at this stage in his career. He doesn’t want to fight a guy that’s moving around, trying to survive.
“Whether it’s next or September, he will get his shot.”
