Tim Bradley says Edgar Berlanga’s recent post about wanting to fight Anthony Joshua at heavyweight was a business move to continue earning big money for his title challenge against unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on the 14th of September.
Although Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs) lost by a 12-round unanimous decision, Bradley says he did better than expected. With this performance, Bradley, 27, can be positioned by his management for another money fight.
Bradley says Berlanga’s comment about wanting to move up to 210 lbs and face Joshua is to get a $20 million payday. He says Berlanga’s mentality is that he made millions for the Canelo fight.
He wants to continue to earn this kind of money, and the only way he can do it is by fighting someone really popular. However, Bradley says Berlanga needs to focus on the fighters at 168, and he feels he has a good chance of beating those fighters:
– Jaime Munguia
– Christian Mbilli
– Caleb Plant
Berlanga has turned his nose up at a fight against Plant, and has not said he wants to fight Mbilli or Diego Pacheco. The only one of those three Berlanga is interested in the fight is Munguia, and he says it’s because he thinks the match will bring a lot of PPV.
“I think Berlanga handled himself very well for a fighter who has never fought at that level,” Tim Bradley told Fighthypetalking about Edgar Berlanga’s performance against Canelo Alvarez on September 14th. “He did better than anyone expected, and Berlanga should learn from that.”
I watched the Canelo-Berlanga fight, and it seemed to me that Berlanga just played it safe, covering, striking, holding and using rough tactics.
Berlanga fought exactly like a sparring partner, flailing, not pulling any punches, and trying to survive. When a man is fighting to survive against a much smaller and older fighter, they often can. Berlanga has not shown that kind of performance, suggesting he will beat Munguia, Mbilli, Pacheco or Plant. He can’t make money fighting scrubs like the 22 guys he compiled his resume with.
“He showed he’s a real fighter at 168 pounds,” Bradley said of Berlanga. “He was enough competition to satisfy my thirst for boxing. 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, and he understood it, and he overcame it.”
The Formula for putting a fighter on a big payday
- Fight only weak opposition: Avoid quality fighters
- Compete 25 lbs below your natural weight: If your natural weight is 193 lbs, drop down to 168 for a massive size advantage.
- Adopt the persona of the villain: brag about becoming a hated villain.
- Rinse and repeat after loss.
“So now it’s like, ‘Damn, I just did it.’ $10 million. How can I position myself to make $20 million?’ So now he’s trying to be a businessman,” Bradley said, responding to Berlanga saying he wants to fight Anthony Joshua or Daniel Dubois next. “He’s saying, ‘How can I get this right now? It sounds crazy, but when you do $10 (million), you want to make $20 (million).
Berlanga won’t get the Joshua or Daniel Dubois fight, obviously, but he has to figure out what he plans to do at 168. If the only man Berlanga wants is Munguia, he can sit idle for an extended period waiting. Even if Berlanga gets that fight, what does he do if he loses? Those pay days are drying up.
“It’s a business, after all, but obviously, Berlanga, there are other fish to fry at 168. He can make really serious money. The PPV numbers are great. He can contribute to that. It wasn’t all Canelo. 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 the fans that, the fans are with you,” Bradley said.
