Roberto Diaz says it’s too early for Edgar Berlanga to fight Canelo Alvarez or Jaime Munguia because those two have too much experience on their side for the unbeaten super middleweight contender.
That said, Diaz says that if Berlanga gets to fight Canelo soon, he should take it for the payday. Obviously, if Berlanga turns down a fight against Canelo, the chances are that he’ll never be offered it again.
Regarding experience, Berlanga isn’t ready for Canelo or Munguia (42-0, 33 KOs). His new promoter Eddie Hearn believes he’s more than ready to fight Munguia next, and he says he’s going to speak to DAZN about it to try and create pressure on Oscar De La Hoya to make it happen.
The former Golden Boy matchmaker Diaz says Berlanga (21-0, 16 KOs) needs more opponents like Jason Quigley, who he beat by a twelve round unanimous decision last Saturday night at the Hula Theater in New York.
Diaz thinks the 26-year-old Berlanga needs to cut off the ring better and jab more.
Berlanga didn’t do that bad of a job of cutting off the ring against Quigley. He was facing a guy who was an excellent mover with great head-upper body movement.
It’s unclear whether the purpose of Berlanga being directed towards Canelo is one based on the possibility of beating him. It seems more like a money thing. Berlanga knows he’ll get his biggest payday against Canelo.
So in the aftermath, if Berlanga’s career goes downhill, he’ll have a golden parachute to retire on with the money from the Canelo fight.
Most fans would agree that Berlanga will be taken out by David Benavidez and David Morrell Jr. He’ll be fine if he’s kept away from those guys and matched carefully against fighters like Billy Joe Saunders and John Ryder.
“Congratulations to him. Look, he won fair & square. Sometimes it’s unfair because they don’t put the label on themselves. The outside people put the label, and they have to live up to the hype,” said Roberto Diaz to iFL TV when asked about whether Edgar Berlanga lived up to expectations in his fight against Jason Quigley last Saturday.
“I think today he realized there are things to learn. He’s young, there are improvements to be made, and these are the type of fights that will make him better. Congratulations to him. He did a good job of it, and there is room for improvement.
“100 percent, but if I’m in Edgar Berlanga’s corner and the fight gets offered, I’m not going to turn it down. He’s not going to turn it down,” said Diaz when asked if it’s too soon for Berlanga to fight Canelo.
“That’s how you measure yourself, and that’s how you applaud these young men that say, ‘I’m willing to be great. I’m willing to challenge myself, and I’ll take the biggest challenges.’ That’s how you find out where you’re at, and obviously, you can’t shy away from a big payday.
“Jason Quigley was a very good opponent for him today. He taught him a lot, he’s going to progress, and he’s going to learn from this. I’ll look for similar fighters like Jason.
Fighters that are not going to fall in one or two rounds, that are going to show up, that are going to come to win and help him progress,” said Diaz when asked how he would manage Berlanga’s career.
“He needs to cut off the ring a little better. Obviously, He’ll see the video. He’ll need to jab a little more, but it’s just a matter of time. It happens, and it’s a progression of all the fighters.
“Obviously, Jaime Munguia and Berlanga would be an amazing fight. Mexico against Puerto Rico, but I don’t think it’s fair right now because of the experience that Munguia has over Berlanga. It’s a big difference,” said Diaz.
