Canelo Alvarez finally came face-to-face with his new opponent. The kick-off press conference for his title defense took place in New York. Both Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga gave each other a hard stare. The fight is already facing flak across several corners. Instead of facing the likes of David Benavidez or David Morrell, Canelo Alvarez is fighting Berlanga! Perhaps the narrative needed a bit of spicing up.

Eddie Hearn, with whom ‘The Chosen One’ has a multi-fight deal, met up with the super middleweight king. But it seems Canelo Alvarez had some pressing questions for Hearn that needed clarification. The meeting probably started off on a tense note. However, much to everyone’s relief, it culminated in a friendly exchange. Footage of the catch-up between Canelo Alvarez and Eddie Hearn has garnered some attention, it seems. Alvarez joins the fight following his last undisputed title defense against Jaime Munguia. The lead up to the September 14 saw him being stripped of his IBF championship, leaving him, thus with unified status.

Canelo Alvarez vs. Eddie Hearn? Only in your dream, folks!

Michael Benson‘s tweet suggested that Eddie Hearn and Canelo Alvarez were talking about last week’s Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov clash. “Canelo Alvarez and Eddie Hearn discussing the promotion of Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov today,” it read.

As the short clip shows, both the champion and the promoter were standing; perhaps the meeting was nearing its end. Looking at the Englishman, Canelo Alvarez said, “You’ve been talking about me all f**king week.” Perhaps the poser caught the Matchroom boss off guard.

Given that Israil Madrimov happens to be one of Matchroom Boxing’s key charges, it seems Canelo Alvarez felt that his name and popularity were being leveraged by Eddie Hearn to draw more attention to the clash with ‘Bud’ Crawford. But Hearn quickly got to his wits and explained that the upcoming show needed some big-time promotion, and what better way to do it than use his big name? Now, that made perfect sense to Canelo Alvarez. There was a smile on his face as he pointed at Eddie Hearn in full agreement. Probably, he had some hunch that it might be the case. “That’s what I think,” he said.

As he moved away, Eddie Hearn checked for his family, to which Alvarez replied that everything was going fine back home. “See you in a minute,” said Hearn and came out. Needless to say, the whole exchange has received a plethora of reactions from fans, most of whom had a word or two for both.

The promotion shuffle

Incidentally, Canelo Alvarez and Eddie Hearn were a team until last year, when the champion made a move with a three-fight, $100 million deal with Al Haymon, with the Jermell Charlo fight being the first in the series. Unfortunately, the journey with PBC didn’t last long, and they agreed to discontinue their collaboration.

Per the available reports, the September 14 card, which will play host to the title fight between middleweights Erislandy Lara and Danny Garcia and Caleb Plant‘s return fight, will see promotional responsibilities shared between Alvarez’s own Canelo promotions and TGB promotions. Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing will provide additional support.

Do you feel that instead of Edgar Berlanga, Canelo Alvarez could have given either Benavidez or Morrell a chance?