According to the general buzz, it’s down to two opponents to decide who will face Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez next. Sadly, David Benavidez is not one of the two fighters. It seems Canelo will face either Edgar Berlanga of Puerto Rico or Chris Eubank Junior of the UK in September on Mexican Independence Day.
Not too many fans are especially excited about either possible match-up. Eubank Jr. has said himself he is a true middleweight, yet he would be going back up to 168 for the first time in years if he fought Canelo, the unified super middleweight king. Eubank Jr. has done nothing to earn a shot at Canelo, while fans will almost certainly agree with the opinion here that 34-year-old Eubank would have no way of scoring the upset over Canelo.
Eubank, 33-3(24), has a good chin, but he fights in spurts quite often; he has a decent dig but is no big puncher, not at the elite level (if Eubank has fought at the elite level). This fight has “Canelo WU12” written all over it. Good luck with the pay-per-view buys if this fight does happen.
As for 27 year old Berlanga, the unbeaten Puerto Rican is younger than fellow good, entertaining trash-talker Eubank, he is a natural 168 pounder, and Berlanga hits harder than the man who is his rival contender for landing the massive Canelo payday. Berlanga, who has also not yet fought at elite level, excited us all when he romped to an attention-grabbing 16 straight KO’s upon going pro. However, the KO’s dried up as Berlanga moved up in quality of opposition, with five of his next six fights going the distance. Berlanga got back the feeling of stopping a foe in his last fight against Padraig McCrory, who “The Chosen One” stopped in six rounds in February.
Of these two possible options for Canelo, Berlanga does seem to have more appeal than Eubank Jr has. Berlanga can punch, but he is Puerto Rican, so the bad-blood rivalry of a Mexico vs. Puerto Rico clash would be there, and Berlanga hasn’t yet learned how to lose. At 22-0(17), Berlanga feels he deserves a shot at Canelo.
“He knows I’m about to make that bag, and we’re going to beat him,” Berlanga said of Canelo when speaking to Cigar Talk. “It’s legacy for me. It’s Puerto Rico versus Mexico. Everybody keeps talking about that fight. Now, I feel it’s time for me to go to that level. I know he has fought big punchers and everybody, but I feel with me, it’s something different. I elevate with the competition. My IQ goes through the roof. I’m a big draw. I know a lot of people love knockouts, and that’s what I give.”
So, has Berlanga convinced you he is the right man, the worthy next man, for Canelo? Probably not, but has Eubank Jr done so? Again, probably not.
