Edgar Berlanga Could Return In February

Edgar Berlanga could return to the ring in February following his loss to Canelo Alvarez on Saturday.

Berlanga was facing Canelo Alvarez on Saturday, in a fight he was a big underdog in. Although Berlanga had plenty of confidence going into the matchup, he fell short as Alvarez dominated the bout as he won a clear-cut decision.

“If you look at the division now, my question is tell me a more valuable fighter or a bigger name at 168 [besides Canelo],” Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn told Colm McGuigan of iFL TV (via BoxingScene). “For me, it’s Edgar Berlanga. You’ve got Jaime Munguia. You’ve got Caleb Plant. You’ve got [Jermall] Charlo. You’ve got Diego Pacheco. But Edgar, after that performance, and his personality and his charisma as well, I think he’s become a huge star, and I’m really excited about the future.”

Who Edgar Berlanga would fight is uncertain, as he still could get a big fight next. Or, perhaps they give him a tune-up fight to try and get him back into the win column.

Yet, the plan according to Eddie Hearn, is to have Berlanga fight in February in Puerto Rico for his next fight.

“Realistically he’s going to come back in February,” Hearn said. “I’d like to take him to Puerto Rico. I think he’d do a huge gate there, come back, have a good fight at 168 and then all of those names are available. There’s so many options at 168. His stock has really risen.”

With the loss to Alvarez, Berlanga is 22-1 as a pro. Before the defeat to Alvarez, he had wins over Padraig McCrory, Jason Quigley, Roamer Alexis Angulo, and Steve Rolls among others.