Tim Bradley says Edgar Berlanga’s recent post about wanting to fight Anthony Joshua at heavyweight was a business move designed to continue making the huge money he drew for a title fight against unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on September 14.

Although Berlanga (22-1, 17 KO) lost by a lopsided 12-round unanimous decision, Bradley says he performed better than expected. Thanks to this performance, 27-year-old Bradley may be exposed by his manager to another fight for huge money.

Bradley claims that Berlanga’s comment about wanting to move up to 210 pounds and fight Joshua means a $20 million payday. He says Berlanga thinks he made millions from the Canelo fight.

He wants to keep making that kind of money, and the only way he can do that is to fight someone really popular. However, Bradley states that Berlanga needs to focus on the 168-pounders and feels he has a good chance of beating these fighters:

–Jaime Munguia
-Christian Mbilli
– Caleb’s plant

Berlanga turned up his nose at the fight with Plant and made no mention of wanting to fight Mbilli or Diego Pacheco. The only one of the three Berlangs interested in the fight is Munguia, and he says it’s because he thinks the fight will generate a lot of PPV buys.

“I thought Berlanga was doing exceptionally well for a fighter who had never fought at this level,” said Tim Bradley Fighttalking about Edgar Berlanga’s performance against Canelo Alvarez on September 14. “He did better than anyone expected, and Berlanga should learn from this.”

I watched the Canelo-Berlanga fight and it seemed to me that Berlanga just played it sheltered, hiding, jabbing, holding and using brutal tactics.

Berlanga fought exactly like a sparring partner would, firing at himself, not throwing punches, but simply trying to survive. When a guy fights for survival against a much smaller, older fighter, he often succeeds. Berlanga showed no such performance, suggesting he would beat Munguia, Mbilli, Pacheco or Plant. He can’t make that much money fighting the 22 guys he put his resume against.

“He showed at 168 pounds that he is a real fighter,” Bradley said of Berlanga. “It was enough competition to satisfy my boxing desire. His manager put him in that spot and we felt he didn’t deserve that spot to fight Canelo. But he was in the right place at the right time, he got it and he did better.

A formula that allows a player to achieve a vast payout

1. Only fight frail opponents: Avoid valuable players
2. Compete at 25 pounds below your natural weight: If your natural weight is 160 pounds, drop your weight to 168 to gain a huge size advantage.
3. Take the form of a villain: boast about yourself and become a hated villain.
4. Rinse and repeat after loss.

“So now it’s like, ‘Damn, I just did it 10 million dollars. How can I set myself up to make $20 million? So now he’s trying to become a businessman,” Bradley said, reacting to Berlanga’s words that he wants to fight Anthony Joshua or Daniel Dubois next. “He asks, ‘How can I position myself now to achieve this?’ It sounds crazy, but when you make $10 [million]you want to make $20 [million]”

Berlanga obviously won’t get fights with Joshua or Daniel Dubois, but he will have to rethink what he plans to do at 168 pounds. If Berlanga only wants Munguii, he may remain inactive for a long time while waiting. Even if Berlanga gets this fight, what will he do if he loses? These payouts will end soon.

“It’s a business after all, but Berlanga, at 168 pounds, is something else to fry. He can earn some sedate money. The PPV numbers are great. It may contribute to this. It wasn’t all Canelo’s doing. He contributed. He sold the fight and I think he gave the fans a reason to want to see him fight again. He showed a lot of heart, and when you show that to the fans, the fans are with you,” Bradley said.

I WAS delighted to hear from member Rob Benson that the EBA summer barbecue in Brighton was well attended – there were also a few guests from other associations. It is very vital that the EBA supports each other in this way – these events require a lot of organization (in this case from the BEBA committee, with additional assist from Harry Scott) and the lack of support is extremely depressing.

Leeds EBA president Allan Richardson was there, bringing with him his amateur medals – including a 1970 Commonwealth bronze (of course, as a professional, Allan won the British featherweight title). Vince Campbell and his partner Lorraine also arrived by train – it’s a long journey and this time there were a few delays.

However, they made the effort and it was much appreciated – and Vince was delighted to meet EBA Croydon member Trevor Cattouse and discover that he had challenged Tom Collins for the British lithe heavyweight title (at the Leeds Astoria in May 1982 – and Collins won in four rounds). Vince was so content because he was promoting Collins and Tom was training in his basement.

Other participants included John Conteh (who “did great at the auction,” Rob said), Home Counties EBA Chairman Bob Williams, Michael Watson, Derek Williams, Scott Welch and Tommy Welch, Ross Minter, Paul Fairweather, Guy Williamson, Ronnie Davies and Mo Prior.

Well done to everyone who made it such a success.

The current Scottish EBA bulletin includes a photo of the tardy secretary Janice Craig and a heartfelt tribute from SEBA vice-chair Philip Martin, who describes Janice as “truly irreplaceable”. That’s true, of course, but it’s also true what Philip says, that “we should now try to carry on her legacy as best we can.” When someone who has done so much is no longer around, there is a huge void – but it is vital that someone steps up to the plate and continues the good work. The latest SEBA bulletin is of a high standard.

There is a fascinating article about Norrie Sweeney, now 89, who was honored with a star on Paisley’s Buddie Walk of Fame (described as “Paisley’s answer to Hollywood Boulevard”).

Norrie’s ambition was always to own his own gym, so in 1962 he won £1,000 on ITV’s Double Your Money (how many of us remember that?). The money made it possible for him and things got better and better.

His daughter, Kay, said proudly: “The number of his boxers who have written that no one deserves it more: many of them say that he was like a second dad to me… Some of them went crazy and my dad helped put them on the right path and they will admit it. They said: “if it weren’t for him, I would be in prison, or maybe I would already be dead.” Many of them said he literally saved their lives.”

Congratulations to Norrie and the many others who willingly volunteer their time to run these clubs and assist so many people do something worthwhile with their lives. Boxing often gets a bad press – sometimes, unfortunately, for good reason. However, the amount of good it can do is enormous.

The current Mug’s Alley – the bulletin of the Merseyside Former Boxers’ Association – includes an article by former pro Robbie Robinson on Andy Holligan, who turned professional after winning the ABA welterweight title in 1987 and won 27 of 30 contests, including 19 within the distance .

He won the British and Commonwealth super-lightweight titles and the Lonsdale belt outright – but undefeated WBC champion Julio Cesar Chavez was too much and after a valiant effort, Andy withdrew after five rounds. Two fights later, he was stopped in three by Ross Hale and lost the titles – but Hale lost the titles to Paul “Scrap Iron” Ryan and Andy stopped Ryan in a round to become champion again. This is boxing.

Former welterweight titleholder Victor Ortiz recently told how he once went into a fight without knowing the identity of his opponent, Emmanuel Clottey.

Ortiz, 37, fought Ghana’s Clottey in August 2007 in a junior welterweight bout, recording a 10-round TKO victory in Houston.

Seventeen years after the fight, Ortiz revealed that he only discovered he had fought Clottey he entered the ring to face him.

“He was a good and amazing champion,” Ortiz said VLAD Television Clottey (29-10, 17 KO), who never won a major title but once fought for the IBF 140-pound belt. “I got the notification about two weeks before the fight.

“Ortiz, they want you to fight in a few weeks.” – Yes, no problem. – Don’t you want to know with whom? ‘NO. What weight category? “One thirty, 133?” What is your weight now? I say, “About 150.” “I need you at 133 in two weeks.” I say, “Oh, sure.” No problem.’

“Don’t you want the guy’s name?” ‘NO.’ – Don’t you want to examine him? ‘NO. Moms – what is it? – 10, 12 rounds? Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it.”

Ortiz (33-7-3, 25 KO) said his insistence on getting to know his opponent during the weigh-in session didn’t matter to his promoters at the time. The Kansas native said he only found out his opponent would be Clottey from ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. during the fighter introductions.

Ortiz said he felt like fight promoters were trying to set him up to lose to Clottey.

“So I went to Laughlin, Nevada and I just remembered I was in the ring and I still didn’t know who I was fighting,” Ortiz said. “They didn’t tell me. I stepped on the scale, weighed myself and went. I still don’t know who I’m fighting. They told me, “Vic, go and eat.” I replied, “But I want to see who I’m fighting.” Don’t worry about it. Just go and eat. ‘All right.’

“I told them to check if he was overweight because I was the one who gained my weight. I went to eat something. It’s almost 9 p.m. I asked, “Did we ever find out who I was fighting?” The only response that came back was, “Vic, they know who you’re fighting. Just relax, man. You think too much. All right.’

“I enter the ring and I still don’t know who I’m fighting. Now they announce: “Ladies and gentlemen, Jimmy Leonard Jr…. ‘It’s show time!’ I say, “Oh my God.” This is great. And the ad went on to say, “From the red corner, challenger,” and I said, “Challenger? What are you talking about?

“Wait. What? Challenger? “And here in the blue corner, reigning, defending…” I said, “Oh no. Oh, OK. I see what’s going on. Okay. That’s why the promoters are trying to set me up. Okay.” .I’ve got you.’

“So I went to the middle of the ring and shook hands,” Ortiz continued. “Hey, master. I love you, but you’ve had enough. Boom. I came and won. I replied, “Yes.” I was so elated. I thought, “Wow.”

After the fight, Ortiz said Clottey congratulated him and the fighters became good friends.

“Yeah, he said, ‘You hit really challenging,’ and I said, ‘You hit challenging, too.’ But his eyes were messed up and he was all closed. The next morning, as I was riding the elevator home, I saw him covered in bruises and wearing glasses. So we just took a substantial picture.