Canelo Alvarez fights Edgar Berlanga this Saturday

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez was annoyed last month during a press conference.

A young undefeated boxer with 22 fights had done the trick.

Canelo Alvarez vs Edgar Berlanga HEATED LA Press Conference & Face Off Video

Alvarez smiled as the kid mouthed off.

“First round, I got to put it on him,” said upstart Edgar Berlanga.”I got to make him feel (the power) so he can see, “The respect is out the door.”

”You’re not going to do anything. You’re just going to make me laugh,” said Canelo.

Berlanga said, “When I talk, shut up.”

“If I [mess you] up right now, your money is gone. You think I’m scared of you? You’re nothing,” replied Canelo.

Buildup, or real animosity?

It’s likely both, but the thinking here is to draw more interest.

Because honestly, there’s not a lot.

Last week, onetime super fighter, and now promoter Oscar de La Hoya gave his opinion on Canelo’s fight this weekend against Berlanga in Las Vegas.

“Canelo is fighting [Edgar] Berlanga, another snooze fest,” said De La Hoya. “They’re trying to sell a PPV for 90 dollars and 500 dollars minimum in person? It’s just robbery at this point to pay for another lame Canelo fight that always goes the distance against a subpar opponent.”

Always? Not really. Alvarez, the WBC and WBO super middleweight champion, has knocked out 39 opponents in 61 victories, but Alvarez has, as De La Hoya states, gone the distance in his last four bouts.

De La Hoya and Alvarez were once friends. Now? Not even close. De La Hoya promoted Alvarez for several years. The partnership was a good one until a bitter breakup occurred in 2020. De La Hoya calls Berlanga a subpar opponent.

The jury is certainly out on Berlanga. Nicknamed “The Chosen One” Berlanga burst on the scene by knocking out 16 successive opponents. The knockouts were impressive, but the opposition was not. Critics said Berlanga needed to fight a live opponent.

Fight number seventeen was against Demond Nicholson. Berlanga’s knockout streak ended, though he won easily. His next fight wasn’t so easy.

Berlanga was determined to begin another knockout streak. Instead, big underdog Marcelo Coceres pushed him to the limit, even scoring a knockdown in round nine. Berlanga recovered well and won the fight. Berlanga then defeated Steve Rolls, Roamer Alexis Angulo, and Jason Quigley.

Last February, Berlanga stopped Padraig McCrory in six heats. Berlanga feels his victory over McCrory was the most important of his career.

“I got this fight due to my hard work and from my last performance and knockout of Padraig McCrory in February,” Berlanga told boxingscene.com several days ago. “It definitely set me up and put me in this position.”

Not really. The choice of Berlanga as an opponent surprised many. Boxing fans wanted Alvarez to fight the talented David Benavidez. Alvarez, a polarizing figure despite a tremendous career, dodged and ducked.

Berlanga doesn’t care. He feels like Alvarez is overlooking him.

“He’s 100 percent doubting my fighting IQ and experience,” said Berlanga.”He thinks it’s a cakewalk for him, and that he’s just going to walk in and make $35-40 million against a younger guy. He can have that mindset, it’s just more fire for me to win and whoop his ass.”

Words.

Alvarez by stoppage.