Canelo Alvarez vs Edgar Berlanga LA Presser Brought The Heat

After the New York portion of the press tour promoting Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) vs. Edgar Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) concluded, few believed this would be a success. That is until they stopped at Beverly Hills, CA, and the buzz meter went from two to now ten. Berlanga took on the villain role entirely, and the disrespect for Canelo was non-stop.

FightsATW was on the scene, and while approaching the Beverly Hills Hotel, the calmness of the sunny skies and the waving palm trees were almost as if they were a warning that things would take a turn for the worse. It started with a nice lunch spread and a mariachi band playing some tunes. Everyone was socializing, and although there was slightly less in attendance than the Jaime Munguia fight presser, it was enough to give the event a wide distribution of attention.

Undercard Notes

There wasn’t much to anticipate as the undercard fighters walked into the room. Rolando ‘Rolly” Romero, Caleb Plant, Trevor McCumby, and Danny Garcia gave plenty of ammo to make it enjoyable. Romero and Garcia provided some laughs, while Plant and McCumby were more serious and wasted no time exchanging barbs. Plant said McCumby was a “30-year-old prospect” and questioned whether he was a “clean fighter.” McCumby, dressed as if he was going hunting with a Trump-styled hat saying, “making America great again,” kept his cool and promised he would get the win and prove himself against Plant. It was good but served only as the appetizer to what was ahead with the main event fighters.

Canelo & Berlanga Gave Us The Spice That Was Desperately Needed

Once Canelo and Berlanga made their way to the podium, the gloves were off, and the respect they showed each other in NY was out the window. Berlanga got in close and made a gesture with his hand resembling an uppercut, while Canelo just looked and smiled. Then Berlanga, seeing that he didn’t get a reaction from Canelo, began with disrespectful language, and that’s when we saw that old fiery Canelo come back. He told Berlanga, “I’m going to beat you like my son,” which he didn’t mean what it sounded like but more so the old Hispanic culture of disciplining your kids. Canelo questioned why Berlanga would disrespect him like that, but the Brooklyn contender didn’t let up. Canelo kept saying to Berlanga, “You are going to see,” before both men sat on their seats.

Once the press conference began, Canelo was breathing heavily and was really fired up about the initial confrontation. People will say it was a charade, but if you were in the room, you would know that Canelo was highly bothered by Berlanga’s comments. The trainers began to speak to settle things down, and they were respectful, but then, once it went back to Canelo and Berlanga, the disrespect stirred up again. Berlanga then said he would do a better job than Plant, who was in the crowd, which sparked it even more. Canelo told Plant not to worry and that he would knock him out in eight rounds. Canelo was a comedian who made fun of Berlanga and his antics, which then got under Berlanga’s skin. Once Canelo and Berlanga faced off, security rushed to the stage as things intensified.

My Three Cents

Yesterday, no one really cared about Canelo vs Berlanga on September 14. However, today, that level of interest went through the roof. Now, Canelo fans want to tune in just to see Berlanga get knocked out. For the much smaller fanbase of Berlanga, they may now feel they have Canelo right where they want him, which is pissed off and unfocused. Was today’s presser enough to get everyone’s attention for the event? We will have to see come September 14 live on PPV.

Abraham Gonzalez

Abraham Gonzalez is the founder of FightsATW. His journalistic work has been published and used across several platforms to include online, network TV and promotional companies. He is an American Public University alumnus and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). Abraham was the Managing Editor for NYFights, Big Fight Weekend, contributed to FanSidedMMA and ProBoxTV.

See author's posts