Trainer Jose Benavidez Sr. is happy for Edgar Berlanga for being chosen by Canelo Alvarez for his next title defense of three- super middleweight belts on September 14th.
Jose Sr. confused by Berlanga’s lashing out
Jose Sr. says he doesn’t understand why Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) recently lashed out at him, implying that he was two-faced for criticizing Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) selecting him and then being friendly when he saw him.
Benavidez Sr. says he’s glad Berlanga got the fight. He hopes he defeats Canelo because it will open up opportunities for other fighters, like his son, David Benavidez, who he’s ignored.
The powerful, charismatic Brooklyn native Berlanga, 27, said he’d like to fight Benavidez after he dethrones WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight champion Canelo in their fight next month, live on DAZN PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Berlanga says if the former two-time WBC champion Benavidez is willing to drop back down to 168, he’d like to fight him, as he feels that would be a massive contest that would attract a lot of fan interest. A clash between Berlanga and Benavidez would be huge on PPV.
Jose Sr. says he doesn’t see a fight between Canelo and Berlanga as one that interests him or the fans. He thinks that fans won’t want to see the Canelo-Berlanga clash. He feels that Berlanga isn’t ready for a fighter like Canelo at this early stage of his career.
“Congratulate him for landing the fight. He was the chosen one,” said Jose Benavidez Sr. to Fighthype, reacting to Edgar Berlanga being selected by Canelo Alvarez for his next fight on September 14th instead of David Benavidez.
Benavidez Sr. hopes Berlanga’s win opens doors
“Even though he’s talking [stuff] about me that I’m hating. It’s hard to believe. I’m going for him. I want him to beat Canelo and knock him out,” Jose Sr. continued. “He has the power; he’s young. If he wins, we all have better opportunities.
“With Canelo, it’s so hard. So, I’m rooting for him, I hope he can beat Canelo. He’s a great fighter and has done a lot for the sport of boxing, and I think he believes he can beat Berlanga because of the style,” said Jose Sr.
In this case, Jose Sr is right. Canelo probably selected Berlanga because he thinks he can beat him, but that’s what any fighter would do. The only time fighters face someone they don’t think they can beat is when they’re offered a huge payday or if they’re in a position to challenge for a world title.
You can’t fault Canelo for picking Berlanga if he thinks he can beat him because he won’t do something crazy, like select a guy that would destroy him, like Artur Beterbiev. Benavidez didn’t want to fight David Morrell, and you can understand why. He might lose.
Jose Sr.’s Bitterness and Envy?
“I don’t know if people want to watch that fight, to be honest with you,” Jose Sr. said about the Canelo vs. Berlanga contest next month. “I don’t want to watch it. If I have other things to do, I’ll catch it on the replay. It’s not like I’m going to leave what I’m doing to watch that fight. It’s not exciting or what people want to see.”
Jose Sr. sounds bitter about people not wanting to watch Canelo vs. Berlanga. Many fans will be watching Canelo-Berlanga because it’s an interesting one and easily the best since Canelo’s trilogy match against Gennadiy Golovkin.
“I just saw that post where he [Berlanga] said, ‘[Bleep] David and his father too.’ I’m like, ‘What did I do?’ I just want to make it clear. There’s no hate. Congratulations to him and his father and team for making this happen,” said Benavidez Sr. about Berlanga getting picked to fight Canelo.
Berlanga obviously saw something that Jose Sr. said that made him go off the way he did because he’s not the type that fires back at someone for no reason. Jose Sr. sounds like he isn’t coming clean with what he actually said initially in reaction to Canelo picking Berlanga rather than his son, David Benavidez, who has been waiting for five years for that fight.
There’s obviously some envy and jealousy involved because Berlanga is going to make a lot of money for that fight against Canelo, likely more than Benavidez has ever made for any of his contests during his long 10-year career.
