The 2023 calendar has been filled with big fight after big fight. Eddie Hearn, having put together a few noteworthy shows of his own, wanted to close out his year with a blockbuster.
Once Edgar Berlanga parted ways with Top Rank and became a free agent, the longtime promoter wouldn’t let up. He cornered the super middleweight contender, threw cash in his face, and promised him the type of exposure he always wanted. Berlanga, wide grinned, happily signed on the dotted line.
In the first match of his three-fight deal, Hearn gave his newly signed man a relatively soft touch in Jason Quigley. After dropping him on multiple occasions and outclassing him, Hearn attempted to put Berlanga (21-0, 16 KOs) in the ring with Jaime Munguia.
Hearn did his best to get their clash over the line for the last quarter of 2023. But, for whatever reason, negotiations broke down. Now, the two will rest, recover, and look ahead. But just because Munguia (42-0, 33 KOs) and Berlanga aren’t on course to face off next, it doesn't mean Hearn isn’t working endlessly behind the scenes to make it happen.
“We couldn’t make it for December,” Hearn told a group of reporters recently. “Now Munguia goes in January, it looks like Berlanga in February and then we want them to agree to fight in May or June.”
Munguia, for the first time in a long time, is coming off a fairly inactive year. Having appeared just once, a controversial win over Sergiy Derevyanchenko, the 27-year-old is said to be locked in discussions to take on John Ryder next.
For Hearn, he has a vision he wants to follow through on. Currently, the super middleweight division revolves around Canelo Alvarez. So, with the Mexican star running through most of Hearn’s fighters, he believes that he has at least one more name for Alvarez to face in the future.
“Berlanga and Munguia meet, the winner of that is a massive fight with Canelo.”
