Canelo Alvarez is currently the A-side in professional boxing. For him, he has nothing else to prove in the fight game. So, he waits on the sidelines for the promoters to come up with the biggest paychecks to lure him into a fight. He has already given the snub to two elite fighters in boxing — David Benavidez and Terence Crawford, quoting an astronomical price to each of them to even consider those fight offers. On that note, many in the boxing community have accused Alvarez of ducking prime contenders for his super-middleweight titles, but he seems unfazed by the criticism.

Next on Canelo’s hit list is Edgar Berlanga. Canelo will be fighting the 27-year-old on September 14 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Reportedly, there will be a sold-out crowd waiting to watch Canelo in action on Mexican Independence Day. However, contrary to many people’s opinion about Berlanga being an easy fight for Canelo Alvarez, he has been very complimentary of the young fighter of Puerto Rican origin.

Recently, the Mexican boxing icon sat down with DAZN Boxing to discuss his upcoming opponent. At the start of the discussion itself, the interviewer asked — “Canelo, you’re the biggest star in boxing. You can decide whoever to fight at what weight class. why did you decide to face Edgar Berlanga?”

 

Canelo Alvarez promptly replied, “I think it’s a good fight because you know Mexico versus Puerto Rico, there is history there.” Interestingly, the 34-year-old fighter was reminded of his hard-fought showdown against legendary Puerto Rican fighter Miguel Cotto by the interviewer. Speaking enthusiastically about the night he defeated Cotto via a unanimous decision, Canelo stated, “Miguel Cotto is a legend and for me it was very special night.”

Additionally, he dismissed his detractors who have criticized him for supposedly taking easy fights, saying, “I don’t really care.” Thereafter, responding to a question about what threat Berlanga poses in their upcoming showdown, Canelo responded, “He’s a strong. He’s fast, especially in the beginning of the fight. He’s big for the weight class, but nothing new for me.”

Nevertheless, Canelo Alvarez will be relishing the opportunity to fight the young Puerto Rican and seemed confident about his victory. As Canelo looks to pad up his boxing record with another win on September 14, not too long ago, the 61-2-2 fighter turned down the most sought-after matchmaker when he came with a fight offer to square up against another pound-for-pound king.

My way or the highway!

Reportedly, HE Turki Alalshikh came to Canelo Alvarez with a lucrative offer to fight Terence Crawford in February. However, Canelo insisted that he wasn’t too keen on that fight, and the only matchup he was focused on was the Berlanga fight. Furthermore, he expressed displeasure over the way the Saudi Arabian Royalty negotiates fights.

“My response to Turki is this. Yesterday, they text me. They text me and say ‘We can talk about the fight in February with Crawford’. They text me yesterday and I say, ‘Look, I’m not going to talk about any other fight, I’m focused 100% on this fight’.” Canelo stated at an earlier press event for the Berlanga fight.

“Look, I don’t like the way he talk, and I’m not in this position because of [anyone else]. I’m in this position. If he wants to work with me it’s in my way, not in their way. I don’t need it,” he further stated.

However, the ship has clearly sailed as His Excellency Turki Alalshikh has moved on from that offer and closed all possibilities of any future business association with ‘Cinnamon’ as his antics don’t align with his vision of providing exciting matchups at a “fair price”.

Meanwhile, who do you think will win the upcoming fight on September 14 — Canelo Alvarez or Edgar Berlanga? Let us know in the comment section below.