Promoter Eddie Hearn says Edgar Berlanga could return in February for a fight in New York or his father’s country, Puerto Rico. Hearn hinted at a tune-up for Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs) to return to his winning ways after losing to unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez last Saturday.
Berlanga may have other plans. In an interview last Saturday, he said he wants to fight for the IBF super middleweight title next and face Canelo for the undisputed championship next year.
If Berlanga goes through with that plan, he will face the winner of the William Scull vs. Vladimir Shishkin fight for the IBF title.
The only obstacle for Berlanga, 27, is the IBF’s 10lb rehydration limit. Berlanga reportedly rehydrated to 193 lbs on Saturday night for his fight against Canelo.
If Berlanga wanted to fight for the IBF belt, he would need to keep his weight overnight after the weigh-in to be within the 10 lb limit of 178 lbs. It obviously won’t work for Berlanga if he has to rehydrate to the 190s. It would be very difficult for Berlanga to make weight for the IBF’s secondary weight on the morning of the fight.
Berlanga should forget about trying to win the IBF title because if he could make weight for that fight, it doesn’t guarantee that he will win or that Canelo would be interested in a rematch. Hearn didn’t say he wanted Berlanga to fight for the IBF title.
Hearn’s plan seems to be focused on Berlanga taking a tune-up in February and then facing one of these four names:
- Jaime Munguia
- Caleb Plant
- Jermall Charlo
- Diego Pacheco
Among these names, Berlanga would probably be more interested in fighting Munguia, as he is arguably more popular than the others. Jermall was a top fighter, but he let his career go downhill by being inactive.
Former IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant has a poor 2-2 record in his last four fights and looked mediocre on Saturday night, falling and getting hurt multiple times in his fight against fringe rival Trevor McCumby .
“Come back, have a good fight at 168, and then all those names are available: Munguia, Plant, Pacheco, Charlo.”, said Hearn to IFLTV about his plans for Berlanga in 2025.
If Hearn wants to get the most mileage out of Berlanga’s career to rebuild him as a money-making marketing product, he shouldn’t face Pacheco, Charlo, Plant, or Munguia. Berlanga will likely lose all four of those fights, and the money he brings in his fights will dry up overnight.
Hearn should go back to the formula that got Berlanga this far pitting him against sublevel ham & eggers and ramping up for a different kind of cash-out fight. Even with Berlanga’s massive 190+ cruiserweight size, he’ll probably lose to the four fighters Hearn wants to fight. Berlanga is not good enough to beat these types of fighters.
Since Berlanga seemed to lose every round of his fight against Canelo, staging his next fight in Puerto Rico as if he’s coming off a win would be strange.
It would make more sense for Berlanga to return home to New York, where he was born and raised, rather than fight in the country of his parents, Puerto Rico, treating his one-sided loss to Canelo as a false victory. That would be weird.
