Caleb Plant Torches Edgar Berlanga While Predicting His Fate Against Canelo Alvarez

In the sprint to fight Canelo Alvarez, Edgar Berlanga finally emerged as the winner. Along with the super middleweight champion, the Brooklyn-born fighter will now headline the feature on September 14. Given that Alvarez has been stripped of his IBF title, the clash will take place for the unified championship. For ‘The Chosen One’, the fight is the biggest one of his eight-year-old career. His first shot at a world title. Needless to say, the fight announcement raised several eyebrows.

Many fans have seemingly raised questions about Edgar Berlanga’s wherewithal to sustain a fight against Canelo Alvarez. But really, are his skills so questionable? Yes, he may not be holding a belt. He remains an unbeaten fighter, with 17 knockouts out of his 22 outings. But is that enough to cut him into a sorry figure? If one asks rival Caleb Plant, the revelation might not be too encouraging. There is no love lost between Plant and Berlanga. But still, it could be worth it to see different viewpoints in the lead-up to one of the biggest shows in the second half of the year.

Caleb Plant vs. Edgar Berlanga: War in the Shadows?

“I mean…he’s gotta be able to use boxing skills he doesn’t have,” replied Caleb Plant when a reporter asked him what all Edgar Berlanga will have to do to pull off an upset win over Canelo Alvarez. ‘Sweethands’ further added that he perhaps lacks the chin needed to absorb those powerful shots from the world champion.

Last but not least, according to Caleb Plant, Berlanga is completely deficient in the required experience to mount a campaign against a seasoned boxer like Canelo Alvarez. In a separate interview, when asked a similar question, whether Alvarez would wound up the Berlanga business early, Plant replied that it would happen because the Brooklynite “lacks the skills; I think he lacks the chin. I think he lacks the boxing ability and the IQ.”

While not negating Edgar Berlanga’s chances completely, Plant still expressed some hope for an eventual clash with ‘The Chosen One’.

Verbal jabs, but no real jabs thus far

To many fans, the response may not have been surprising. They saw Caleb Plant and Edgar Berlanga in a heated exchange at the Canelo Alvarez-Jaime Munguia final weigh-ins. Subsequently, the spat spilled over to the social media arena. The online banter even witnessed ‘Sweethands’ lambasting the Brooklyn-born fighter for playing a matchmaker when the latter dropped Daniel Jacobs‘s name for a fight.

Caleb Plant himself suffered a career loss to Canelo Alvarez three years ago. Hence, he needs to roll back into the game to increase his chances of a rematch with Alvarez. A fight with fellow super middleweight Edgar Berlanga thus makes for a good case. But ‘The Chosen One’ had been quite vocal and upfront about his candidacy. When he became the mandatory challenger to the Mexican icon, his case became a bit stronger. So did Berlanga want to divert Caleb Plant to another track to sustain his home run towards Alvarez?

Plant’s break after the David Benavidez fight has now extended beyond 12 months. A fight with Trevor McCumby finally appeared. Unfortunately, on account of the Illinoian suffering an injury, the fight had to be postponed. Reportedly, it will now take place on the September 14 Alvarez-Berlanga card.

Do you agree with Caleb Plant’s assessment of Edgar Berlanga’s skills?