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Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will be criticized for choosing Edgar Berlanga as his next opponent, but even one of his most vocal critics delivered praise for the stance he’s taking in not budging off Mexican Independence weekend.
“Nobody takes ‘Canelo’ off the Las Vegas perch,” ProBox TV’s Paulie Malignaggi said on “Deep Waters.” “We thought he was getting kicked off by [UFC president] Dana White.
“Canelo says, ‘No! Nada! Las Vegas is my house! It’s my weekend!’”
In the face of the UFC’s debut card at the colorful, multi-dimensional Las Vegas Sphere on Sept. 14, the undisputed super middleweight champion Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) is staying put on the same night at the T-Mobile Arena, readying the formal announcement he’ll fight Brooklyn, New York’s Edgar Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs).
The selection has been widely panned because Alvarez bypassed his WBC mandatory challenger David Benavidez.
“A Canelo fight is always an event, always a big deal,” Malignaggi said. “Is Vegas excited enough to bypass the UFC hype when Canelo’s selecting a guy on the next tier down?
“Does Berlanga have a big enough name, especially on the West Coast, to push back against the UFC card?”
Malignaggi’s fellow analyst Chris Algieri argued that Las Vegas is Alvarez’s town – especially on a Mexican holiday weekend.
“They’ll come out in droves – I love the Mexican fans,” Algieri said. “Then, with Edgar Berlanga – this undefeated, young Puerto Rican guy. In New York or Florida [where Berlanga trains], it’s, ‘Let’s go to Vegas!’ They can go head-to-head with the UFC.”
