Boxing
Edgar Berlanga says Zuffa lets him fight anyone and he wants Eubank Jr. next
“We obviously had a good strategy and a good game plan, Dana [White] and Zuffa, Nick Khan, they didn’t give us any problems or anything. They are excited.”
Berlanga says he told Dana White he wanted to win the super middleweight world title. In other words, he’s not just focused on getting a Zuffa belt.
“I told Dana, ‘Listen, I want to win the 168-pound world title,’” Berlanga said. “That’s my goal. That’s why I’m very closed off now, especially after this last fight, it woke me up.”
It will be arduous for Berlanga to win the 168-pound world title without Zuffa’s careful selection of fighters. Interestingly, he himself claims that he wanted to fight the winner of the fight between WBA 168-pound champion Jose Armando Resendiz and Jaime Munguia. Many fans believe that Resendiz is the weakest link in the current super middleweight champions.
“I’m interested in Resendiz and Munguia, who will fight in a few weeks,” Berlanga said. “It’s a dope fight and I think we could create something really frigid. You know, the winner of that.”
This is a realistic fight for Berlanga, provided Zuffa offers the winner enough money to make it tempting. Munguia would obviously prefer a rematch with Canelo Alvarez if the option was offered.
“I want that fight with Eubank and the fight with Chris Eubank,” Berlanga said. “I’m interested in this.”
Indication of Eubank Jr. as a goal is the definition of “business level” fighting. Eubank Jr. he’s 36, coming off a loss to Conor Benn behind schedule last year and clearly dwindling. For Berlanga, it’s a low-risk, high-reward payday. He will be a “massive arena” headliner in the UK against a name that is popular with casual fans but poses little threat to the younger, naturally bigger super middleweights.
“There’s a lot more money,” Berlanga said of the Eubank Jr. fight. in Great Britain. “Then we will fight in this massive arena. You know me, I fought Canelo. Thousands of Mexicans. So I don’t worry about going out there.”
The move to Zuffa Boxing looks like an attempt to reset his image. In Berlanga’s case, this is quite astute if his goal is to make as much money as possible before the wheels completely fall off. However, if he thinks that defeating 36-year-old Eubank Jr. or a champion like Resendiz makes him “King of Up-to-date York”, it will likely be fruitless. Defeating Eubank Jr. Will Resendiza change fans’ perception of Berlanga?
Following Hamzah’s stoppage of Sheeraz last July and his earlier loss to Canelo, Berlanga’s stock as an elite fighter is at an all-time low.
Originally from Brooklyn, Up-to-date York, Berlanga claims that Dana White told him that he should be a superstar in Up-to-date York. It’s unclear why this happened, considering Berlanga has never won a world title and is mostly known for losses to Canelo and Hamzah Sheeraz. His best wins came over British fighters Jason Quigley and Padraig McCrory. These are not high-level fighters.
“Dana was like, ‘Hey bro, I know how massive you are in Up-to-date York, but you shouldn’t even be able to walk around the city right now,’” Berlanga said. “You should have 100,000 people trying to take pictures with you. No, it’s about branding. Building your brand. Giving you the right position to become a star. That’s why I like him.”
Berlanga appears to be playing a massive game of finding the path of least resistance. It’s more like a survival strategy wrapped in a Dana White marketing pitch.
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