“I took his best shot and I knew I could take his punches and return them,” exclaimed a tired Edgar Berlanga after a sensational performance against Canelo Alvarez. Honestly, it was a star-making performance as the Puerto Rican went the distance against the unified super middleweight champion. Or it should have been one.

Since the fight against Cinnamon, Berlanga has been absent from everywhere except his social media and a few public appearances where he tried to hype up his upcoming match. However, despite the promise, in reality, it has not been the case. His upcoming match against Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz on March 15th has garnered very little in terms of public attention. Furthermore, Eddie Hearn and Boxlab Promotions have put the match on the undercard of a non-title fight, dampening his return even more. The situation begs the question, what went wrong? Or was it by design? Well, former six-division champion Oscar De La Hoya had much to say about it.

Oscar De La Hoya makes a bold comparison in Edgar Berlanga rebuke

In the recent episode of his Clapback Thursdays, the head of the Golden Boy Promotions decided to lambast Alvarez and Berlanga. At first, he mocked the Mexican superstar for not making his opponents look like a million bucks. “Canelo, if you’re a true star in your prime, everyone you fight should become a star as well.” The former Olympic gold medalist compared Canelo to himself and listed how he elevated the levels of fighters like, “Pacquiao, he became ‘Pacman,’ and me with Mayweather, he became ‘Money’ Mayweather.” 

This brought him to Cinnamon’s last opponent. “Edgar Berlanga, who went the distance with you but lost every round,” De La Hoya declared. Given how the fight went, ‘The Chosen One’ should be one of the top prospects at 168 lbs. However, that is not the case. Instead, “he went on a bizarre victory tour, celebrating his loss,” which was quite shameful in De La Hoya’s eyes.

The Golden Boy even mockingly referred to Edgar Berlanga as “‘Bum-laga,’ as he’s been named by the fans,” and claimed how his upcoming fight on “March 15th,” is against someone, he “doesn’t know, in Orlando on the undercard.” This shows that ” No one cares if ‘Bum-laga’ fights again,” Oscar De La Hoya predicted in a bold rebuke.

De La Hoya is not the only one who has criticized Edgar Berlanga for his upcoming fight. A few days ago when the fight got announced, a long-time rival of the Puerto Rican had something to comment.

Not enough to get us excited

Caleb Plant and Edgar Berlanga have been involved in a long-running rivalry that peaked when Berlanga, a hot prospect, was set to face Canelo Alvarez last year. At that time, Sweet Hands expressed his desire to face the Brooklyn native, but it amounted to very little. With Plant now holding the Interim WBA Super Middleweight championship, it was his time to hit back.

The Nashville native quoted Dantheboxingman’s post about Edgar Berlanga’s next fight. Plant wrote, “And the crowd goes MILD!!!! Anyways 40$ on pump 3 my guy, preciate it.”. He referred to ‘The Mantequilla,’ as just some guy who pumps gas at a gas station. On the other hand, he mocked Berlanga and declared him as someone fans don’t care about a bit.

Expectedly, Plant’s comment caused quite a stir as fans started wondering about the duo’s potential fight. Because that is the fight that fans want to see. Regardless, until Edgar Berlanga proves himself on March 15, such pointed diatribe will continue to come his way from people like Oscar De La Hoya and Caleb Plant.

What do you think about Oscar De La Hoya’s criticism of Berlanga? Let us know your thoughts down below.