Edgar Berlanga has been told that he will be Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s next opponent, in September.

On Saturday at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, on the occasion of Cinco de Mayo weekend, Alvarez will defend his undisputed super-middleweight title against his fellow Mexican Jaime Munguia.

The 26-year-old Berlanga, who stopped Padraig McCrory in February, had also been in contention to fight the world’s leading fighter on Saturday, having previously been lined up to fight Munguia instead.

He is the mandatory challenger to Alvarez’s WBA title, but while Alvarez’s profile and influence has made the sanctioning bodies reluctant to force him into mandatory defenses of their titles, Berlanga’s promoter Eddie Hearn – once Alvarez’s promoter – has told him he will deliver the fight should, as expected, Alvarez wins on Saturday.

The 33-year-old Alvarez will be a free agent at the conclusion of the coming Premier Boxing Champions promotion, and Berlanga, who is in Vegas to watch what unfolds, said: “It’s gonna be a done deal [if Alvarez is victorious]. Right now, there’s nobody for him to fight – me and him makes the most sense.

“I’m 100 percent confident. I know it’s gonna happen. He’s just gotta get through this weekend and we definitely gonna make it happen.

“I’m the mandatory for Canelo in September, so I’m over here supporting Mexican weekend, supporting the two fighters – the main-event fighters – and showing face, man. I’m the mandatory, I’m the Puerto Rican superstar, so I gotta show face. I gotta come out here and show my support and try to make this fight happen for September.

“I’m Puerto Rican, I’m a superstar, I got a big backing and big following. Yeah, I don’t got a title – I’m his mandatory. But you gotta understand, the fan base I got is insane, and I know we’re gonna do amazing numbers on pay-per-view and it’s gonna be one for the history books. It’s Mexico versus Puerto Rico. It’s big, so we definitely gonna make some money.

“We were supposed to make it happen for this year – me and Munguia – but the numbers wasn’t right. But I’m looking forward to the fight this weekend.

“Man, it would have been amazing on Mexican weekend. But everything happens for a reason. I knew I was coming off my great knockout victory in February, so I knew it was a short time to make the fight happen between me and him, and I kinda knew that me and Munguia was in the mix for May 4. But I knew they was gonna side on him because he just fought in January. So it was a much larger time for him to get ready [to fight Alvarez] than me.

“We didn’t get into negotiations, so I wouldn’t say that it was that close. But our names – our names. They was juggling with our names for sure.”

Munguia, 27, enters the biggest fight of his career as the significant underdog.

“He’s a great fighter,” Berlanga continued. “He’s made it this far, so obviously you can’t take nothing away from him. I think he’s an amazing fighter. He’s a great fighter; he’s a young champion. He represents Mexico and he’s putting it on for his family; for his country, so I give all my respect to him.

“His offense is good. He throws a lot of punches. I can compare him to like a [Dmitry] Bivol – he just throws punches, non-stop, without getting tired. The only thing that he lacks is defense. He doesn’t have the defense that he should have, and I think that’s gonna be major for Canelo. It’s showing that he doesn’t have no defense, and [Alvarez is potentially] landing shots whenever he want.

“I still think [Alvarez is] an amazing fighter. I still think he’s a great champion. He’s 33 years old, but he’s still young in the sport. He’ll know when it’s time for him to give it up – he said it. But right now, I still feel like he’s the man. I still feel like, you know, he is the face of boxing right now, and I give him that respect. He made it this far – he fought a lot of great champions and beat them, so you gotta take your hat off to him. I don’t think he’s declining at all.

“He’s smart, and he doesn’t take a lot of punishment. You know what I’m saying? So that’s why he can go that long. His defense got better throughout the years. He’s gotten hit a lot less. Yeah, man – s***, if you was a fighter that was just getting pounded on your whole career, by the time you was his age, you’d have been done – and obviously he’s still fresh. So, he’s got the advantage.

“I think Canelo can win by knockout. If he lands – if he lands a great punch on Munguia – and if he doesn’t land, he’s going to be in for a long night. Munguia is gonna [try to] wear him down with a lot of punches that he throws, but Munguia gotta be on his Ps and Qs because Canelo hits hard, and he’s precise with his punches. If he lands on his chin, he’s going down.

“It could be the first half of the fight, so you never know. Just because I know [Munguia’s] gonna come out and fight the first round. It’s gonna be an explosive fight.

“I’m favoring Canelo to win. I just think he’s a much better fighter. I’m not taking nothing away from Munguia – he’s a beast – but I got Canelo winning.”