Edgar Berlanga received quite the thrashing from Canelo Alvarez last Saturday night in Las Vegas in front of a packed crowd. ‘Cinnamon’ pursued his Puerto Rican opponent like a heat-seeking missile, as he dropped ‘The Chosen One’ in round three en route to a unanimous decision win. However, soon after the fight concluded, new controversy started taking shape. 

What exactly happened? Do you remember Canelo saying David Benavidez would come in 25-30 pounds overweight if he were to fight the Mexican ‘Monster?’ Well, that happened—allegedly—but with Edgar Berlanga. You see, on September 15th, one day after the Canelo vs. Berlanga fight, ESPN’s Salvador Rodriguez hopped on X to make the revelation. 

He wrote, “I was told that Edgar Berlanga entered the ring tonight at 193 pounds, that is, 25.4 pounds above the 167.6 he weighed on Friday. The Puerto Rican won by losing,” as per translations. While unconfirmed, this piece of news started spreading like wildfire across all the nooks and crannies of the boxing world. Another clip of Berlanga saying to Eddie Hearn about him weighing over 200 lbs, the night before the fight also became evidence of the alleged weight disparity.

However, this was never true, according to an Anti-Doping consultant and analyst, Angel Memo Heredia Hernandez. Before getting into what he said, it’s important to note Hernandez is a former discus thrower and current strength and conditioning coach for Edgar Berlanga. Now, Hernandez clarified that none of the prior claims about Berlanga weighing over 200 pounds were true.

He wrote on X, “To those trying to make things up to create views or reproductions… Berlanga wasn’t 201 or even 193 lbs. @EdgarBerlangaJr was 185lbs on fight night, Berlanga gained muscle mass & size simple.” This clarification from Hernandez seems to have started a back-and-forth with ESPN’s Bernardo Pilatti.

Edgar Berlanga is innocent, coach advocates

Responding to Hernandez’s post, Pilatti suggested until and unless cameras are present for the private weigh-ins, he will continue to be suspicious. “Until they do the same at the unofficial weigh-in at fight time, we will continue to hear from credible sources. Boxing is poorly managed,” Pilatti wrote, as per translations.

This prompted Berlanga’s coach to reveal that “weight was given in front of the media and commissioners.. and it wasn’t private, it was open..” He asked, “But why say 201lbs? Where is the evidence? Exactly…” So, Pilatti responded to this by claiming there are private weigh-ins before “the theater for the media.”

As for the evidence Hernandez asked for, Pilatti claimed, “There is no official evidence because there is no official weigh-in on the day of the fight.”

That said, despite clarification from Edgar Berlanga’s strength and conditioning coach, several questions linger about Berlanga’s official weight on fight night. This casts a shadow of doubt over the entire weigh-in process. What are your thoughts on the matter?