Edgar Berlanga looked badly drained on Thursday ahead of today’s weigh-in for his title fight against WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez this Saturday on the Mexican Independence Day on the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
It’s time for Berlanga to contemplate moving as much as 175 because he’s too big for the 168-lb division. He’s in the identical boat as David Benavidez. He was also a large at that weight before moving as much as light heavyweight, where he belongs.
It might be interesting to understand how much weight Berlanga puts on after he rehydrates for the fight on Saturday night. It wouldn’t be surprising if he weighs 190+ lbs, meaning that Canelo could be fighting a small cruiserweight.
Even with Canelo’s much more talent and experience than Berlanga, fighting a young cruiserweight on Saturday shall be difficult for him. If Canelo didn’t include a rehydration limit within the contract for his fight with Berlanga, he dropped the ball because he must have seen how huge he’s for his fights.
If this fight is nearly Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) getting a payday, you may’t fault him for that, but he’s clearly a real 175-pounder and must be fighting where he must be. All those knockouts that Berlanga has scored at 168 are because of his being a lightweight heavyweight together with his frame.
If Berlanga moves up in weight to 175, those knockouts will dry up when he begins fighting guys his size who can take his power. Moving as much as 175 would put Berlanga in with these sharks:
– David Morrell
– Artur Beterbiev
– Dmitriy Bivol
– Wily Hutchinson
– David Benavidez
– Anthony Yarde
– Wily Hutchinson
– Joshua Buatsi
– Craig Richards
Berlanga is an excellent fighter, but an enormous reason for that’s his size. He doesn’t seem like he belongs at 168 and possibly must have moved up in weight six years ago.
Last Updated on 09/13/2024
