Promoter Oscar De La Hoya says he wanted to intentionally rile Edgar Berlanga because he believes he’s “not mentally stable” going into his fight against Hamzah Sheeraz on Saturday, July 12th in Queens, New York.
To mess up his mind, De La Hoya had a diamond expert inspect the jewelry that he was wearing today at the final press conference. He concluded that it was 100% fake. He’s just wearing costume jewelry, like a kid dressed up for Halloween.
Oscar Doubts Berlanga’s Stability
Berlanga did get upset when De La Hoya kept telling the media that he’s not won a world title, and that he has not shown his passport to reveal if he’s Puerto Rican like he claims he is.
If Edgar fights the way he did against Canelo Alvarez, he’s not beating Sheeraz (21-0-1, 17 KOs) in their WBC super middleweight title eliminator at the Louis Armstrong Stadium.
“He’s not mentally stable. So, what I had to do was rattle him. I had a jewelry guy here, Isaac, who is the guy in New York to test diamonds,” said Oscar De La Hoya to the Ring Magazine YouTube channel. “Isaac, were those diamonds fake?”
“Oscar, those diamonds are definitely fake,” said Isaac.
“Thanks for showing the world they’re fake,” said De La Hoya. “I wanted to show Berlanga that this is the big leagues, baby. This is not you fighting Canelo and losing all 12 rounds and having a victory party. I’ve been asking for your passport, and you can’t give it to me. I’m probably more Puerto Rican than Berlanga is. I lived for seven years on the island.”
De La Hoya believes that Berlanga’s gold is fake, too. Wearing custom jewelry is good for a pose to give the appearance of the type of fans that Berlanga is looking to impress, but it’s sad if it’s fake.
De La Hoya is upset that Berlanga has been passing himself off as Puerto Rican, despite being born in the U.S. and never having lived there, unlike when he was married to a native of the island.
Sheeraz Can KO Berlanga
“I think Sheeraz has a great shot of beating Berlanga and shutting his mouth and proving to the world that Sheeraz is the real deal,” said De La Hoya.
If Sheeraz can avoid Berlanga’s power early on, he can definitely knock him out. Berlanga struggled to beat the journeymen Marcelo Coceres, Roamer Alexis Angulo, and Steve Rolls.
His previous promoter, Eddie Hearn, matched him against two weak opponents to get him the Canelo Alvarez payday that he didn’t deserve, and he lost every round. Next to Canelo, Sheeraz will be the best fighter Berlanga has fought.
