Edgar Berlanga sits down with Tobin to preview his upcoming card with Canelo. He emphasizes on the support he has received from the Mexican fanbase. Berlanga also discusses his future and the current state of fellow Puerto Rican Boxer Xander Zayas.
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00:00Yes.
00:00This man has a monster fight coming on up September 14th live on pay-per-view.
00:05He is a dangerous young fighter.
00:08He is a, an absolute terror in the ring and he is going to be fighting
00:11Canelo Alvarez coming up September 14th in Las Vegas, live on pay-per-view.
00:15Edgar Berlanger, the chosen one joining us here on the program.
00:18Edgar, thanks for the time, man.
00:19Really appreciate it.
00:21Thank you, man.
00:22I appreciate it.
00:23I got to tell you, man, I'm going to be flat out honest with you.
00:25Like I was like a lot of greedy boxing fans when the fight was first
00:28announced was like, oh, it's not Crawford.
00:30It's not Benavides, but I'm going to tell you something, man.
00:34You sold this damn fight.
00:35You walked up to that press store and I'm just like, this guy's got me.
00:39He's got me in you.
00:41You hooked me in.
00:41Did you, was that any, was that a conscious thing going in to that
00:45press store with you and Canelo?
00:46Cause you're very much bothered him and you got everybody believing in this
00:50and believing this is going to be a captivating fight.
00:52Yeah.
00:53Um, I mean, it's normal, you know what I'm saying?
00:55Like I didn't do nothing like, like, like outside of the box.
00:59You know what I'm saying?
01:00It's what I am.
01:01I knew before the fight, people were going to talk, but eventually, you know,
01:05the closer we get to the fight, the closer people are going to understand,
01:08like, this is going to be a real fight.
01:09You know what I'm saying?
01:10Like, this is not going to be no bullshit.
01:12This is not what people think it is.
01:14You know, and the more closer it gets, the more I'm a turn non-believers
01:18into believers, you know what I'm saying?
01:20And then after September 14th, they're going to become real believers, you know?
01:26So, um, you know, I, it's just me, man.
01:28Like people don't, then people don't understand like who I am, you know,
01:30now everybody's getting really getting to know me now, you know, the real world
01:34is understanding my story and everything.
01:36So people are going to fall in love with me regardless.
01:38You know what I'm saying?
01:39I'm a humble God and I'm a humble killer, man.
01:42I come to fight and I got an island behind me from New York, you know,
01:47and, um, yeah, it's game time, man.
01:49And one thing for sure, you know, we don't, we don't got no respect for
01:53nobody, you know what I'm saying?
01:54Especially like the big homies, he's the big homie at 168.
01:57We don't got no respect for nobody, you know, like as far as like, you
01:59know, fighters and everything.
02:02At the end of the day, we're going in there to kill.
02:03So it is what it is.
02:04Like, you know, he's just, he's just another guy, you know what I'm saying?
02:07He's a legend.
02:08But for me, I just got to go in there and just do my business and do what I do best.
02:13What did you say to him in the, in the first in between, when you go, you
02:17reach in and you're talking into him, that really seemed to like, you saw the
02:21flick.
02:21Oh, you're like, I got him.
02:22Like we all kind of saw that, that moment, but what was it that you said
02:25that you're like, you notice like all of a sudden, all right, the energy
02:28kind of shifted in the room.
02:30Yeah.
02:30Um, no, I was just telling him like, that is my time now.
02:34You know what I'm saying?
02:34Like it's my moment and I'm gonna kick his ass.
02:38And then he was just like, you want to see?
02:39And I was like, you're going to see, you're going to see, I just kept
02:41telling you, you want to see?
02:42He's like, you want to see?
02:43I was like, you want to see?
02:44Like, we just kept going back and forth like that.
02:46You know, like I'm gonna kick your ass.
02:49And it was just, that was just it.
02:51You know what I'm saying?
02:51And then, and LA was just, it went to a whole nother level.
02:55LA was just crazy.
02:56I'm like, nah.
03:00I was just more like, I like in LA, I was just more on my New York, you know, I
03:05got like real, like gritty and I was like, you know, everybody over here, man.
03:09Like, you know, everybody, cause they was more like, you know, we on his side
03:14now, you know, we in LA.
03:15We on the West coast, East coast on the West coast, you know, but I keep that
03:20same energy wherever I'm at, you know what I'm saying?
03:22Like, I don't, my, my energy doesn't stay, I don't change energy or where I'm at.
03:27If anything, if places that I feel like my back is against the world, like I always
03:30do, I show up and that's what I did in LA.
03:34Like I just, I just was being me and I attacked everybody cause I don't
03:38give a f**k, you know what I'm saying?
03:40Did, uh, when you get done with the press tour and you go back into, and now it's
03:44camp mode, it's starting to get the prep going after you get like the measure up
03:48of him, like, all right, I see him eye to eye.
03:50I know what the mental energy of it is.
03:52What changes for you?
03:53Like, do you feel like you get a gauge on him?
03:55Does anything change as far as your preparation goes?
03:57Just cause you, you, you've spent now time with him.
04:00You know what the, the whole back and forth has been, how does that, I guess,
04:04how does that level up the training?
04:06Yeah, like a lot, you know, I just know that I sparked, I sparked
04:10something to him for sure.
04:12And he could say, he don't, he's going to, he's not going to have compassion for me.
04:16He was never going to have compassion for me.
04:18You know what I'm saying?
04:18I'm Puerto Rican.
04:19He's Mexican.
04:20You know what I'm saying?
04:21So I definitely like lit a fire in him for sure.
04:25But Hey, that's what we all want, right?
04:27We want the guy, we want the guy, his best version of himself.
04:30You know what I'm saying?
04:31So when I do beat him, it's not going to be like, Oh, um, you know, this guy, you
04:36know, he was, he, he didn't take, he took like a lightly, nah, I made sure he came.
04:41You know, I touched a couple of bars in him that I made sure he came on his A game that
04:44night, you know, so September 14th, we are going to get the best Canelo, you know what I'm
04:49saying?
04:49And he's going to get the best Aguabalanga because, you know, I want what he got.
04:54You know what I'm saying?
04:54It's my time now.
04:55Like he's already at that age.
04:56He made history already.
04:58He's held the belts for numerous years already.
05:01And to be honest, people just, like people was tired of him.
05:04You know what I'm saying?
05:05Like people just, they're like, they, they want something new.
05:07You know what I'm saying?
05:08They want a new guy to come in and, you know, and shake the sport up.
05:11And I know I'm the guy for that, you know, and that's why I got the opportunity now that
05:15I did.
05:16Edgar.
05:17One of the things that's interesting, you mentioned that because I was at his last
05:19fight.
05:19It's the first time I've ever been to a canal fight.
05:20And I have a lot of respect for him, obviously as a boxing fan and all that, but it was
05:24interesting being in that building.
05:26A lot of that building was rooting for Munguia.
05:29And I'm curious what you think it's going to be like, cause that was Mexico, Mexico.
05:33This is Puerto Rico, Mexico.
05:35What do you think the, the energy is going to be like in that building?
05:38Are you anticipating it being mostly hostile, a lot more people rooting for
05:42Canelo, or do you feel like your side is going to come out and it's going to be like
05:46one of those classic Puerto Rico, Mexico, hostile crowd back and forth?
05:50Like, what do you anticipate?
05:51Cause I was a little taken aback by the crowd being more pro Munguia than it was.
05:56I done went to kind of kind of little fights and people was Mexican screaming in
06:00the crowd, Mexican screaming.
06:02You're going to be, can I, you are, we want you to knock him out.
06:05Like, I'm like, damn, these people really don't like him.
06:08Like, I understand.
06:09I know I got hate in Puerto Rico, but you'll never see a Puerto Rican in my
06:14face telling me, Canelo's going to knock you the fuck out.
06:18You know what I'm saying?
06:18Like, if anything, a Puerto Rican probably hate me on social media, but
06:21they'll see me up in Puerto Rico, like they'll go crazy for me, even though they
06:25was probably just talking about me on the media, but that's how Puerto, you
06:29know, Puerto Rico is all like that.
06:30But well, Mexicans was telling me that like in a crowd while he's fighting and
06:34like, you're going to not, and I got video.
06:36I hit him.
06:36Like I got videos, like you're going to knock him out, take him.
06:40And I'm in there and, and, and if you go on my Instagram and you see me when I went
06:45into the lobby the day that he fought with Canelo or with Munguia after, bro, I had
06:50a whole crowd of Mexicans following me.
06:52Like, so that night you don't be surprised.
06:55You probably see Mexicans with the flag were rooting for me.
06:59You know what I'm saying?
07:00Because at the end of the day, the Mexicans know how much love I got for them.
07:04You know what I'm saying?
07:04Like, I love Mexicans, you know, and they seen that night, May 4th, when I went back
07:09to the hotel and I made a ruckus, I made, I did something crazy in that lobby at the
07:15MGM and the security was like, Hey, like, please, can you go upstairs to your room?
07:20Like, this is outrageous.
07:21And it was a whole bunch of Mexicans.
07:22There was no Puerto Ricans.
07:23It was all Mexicans hugging me, singing Mexican songs, you know, like, so that
07:30night is, I don't know, man, it's going to be, it's going to be special.
07:35I just, what do you, do you have a theory as to why that is?
07:39Do you think it's just like, he's blown up too much and that's like, people feel
07:42like he's sold out or do you feel like they're just, is it like you said before?
07:46Like, it's an exhaustion with him.
07:47What do you, what do you think it is that people are kind of rats off
07:49a ship on the whole Canelo show?
07:52I think that they just feel like, you know, he's not like a people's person.
07:54He's not like, that's why, you know, they look at like Marquez and like
07:59Julio Cesar Chavez, like the guy, you know, cause they more for the people,
08:03you know, as much money as they made, they still themselves.
08:06You know what I'm saying?
08:07And you got to understand, right?
08:09Like guys, like where we come from, like Mexicans and Puerto
08:12Ricos, we humble people, bro.
08:14Like our, our, our islands are very humble, very hardworking people.
08:20You know what I'm saying?
08:21So regardless of how much money you make, you got to always bring
08:25yourself down for your, for your people.
08:28You know, you don't got to do it for everybody, but at least for your
08:31You know, whether it's taking pictures, whether it's being in, you know, doing
08:35givebacks and being there with the kids and going to visit, you know, homes and
08:39going back to, to, to where you came from and when you grew up and giving
08:43back and showing face, that's what the people love, you got what I'm saying?
08:47That's when you start grasping towards the people, you know?
08:49And I feel like, and like I said, our countries are very, very humble
08:54people, you know what I'm saying?
08:55So it's like me making millions and millions of dollars and I go to Puerto
08:59Rico and I don't want to, and I'm like, I don't want nobody to touch him.
09:02Nah, you know, I'm a still walk in Puerto Rico.
09:06I got a hundred million dollars.
09:07I got a hundred billion.
09:08I'm a still walk in Puerto Rico.
09:10I'm a still hug people.
09:11I'm a still give back.
09:12I'm a still show face and I'm a still let the people be able to touch me.
09:16You know what I'm saying?
09:16That's what they want, especially for the kids, you know?
09:18And I feel like people don't, don't respect that from him.
09:23A couple more before we get you out of here.
09:25Edgar Belanger joining us by his pay-per-view September 14th against
09:28Canelo Alvarez is going to be a hell of a showdown down here in south Florida.
09:32Uh, we have, uh, another great Puerto Rican fighter Xander Zayas.
09:35I've seen you guys had, you know, some back and forth and some interactions.
09:38What do you think of his future?
09:39He's fighting a couple of weeks after you, I think, uh, 27th ish.
09:42He's back, but, uh, your guy's relationship, it seems like it's, uh,
09:45been a pretty cordial, cool one as you both are young fighters coming on up.
09:48What do you, what do you make of Xander's future?
09:50Yeah, I think he's going to be one of the greats too, as well.
09:53No, he keeps up what he's doing.
09:55Um, and keep winning.
09:56Um, he should be world champion in like a year or two.
09:59You know, you got tough guys that won 54, you know, but I know he can hang
10:02with those type of guys, you know, he's still young, um, but he's well
10:06seasoned already, you know what I'm saying?
10:07He's ready for those big town fights.
10:09So I think, you know, another year, two years, he should be fine
10:11for a world title referee soon.
10:13And I think he should be, it feels good to have a guy, you know, a lot of
10:17times, you know, people coming up, they have Puerto Ricans and they
10:20just want to focus on one guy.
10:21But, you know, I see the Mexicans and Mexicans have numerous
10:24of guys that's as superstars.
10:26You know, so I'm glad to be in this era where, you know, we have
10:29Amanda Serrano, we have me, we have him, you know, we have a lot of
10:33different guys as Puerto Rican as represent the Island that have that
10:38that's paving their own way, but also stars in a sport, you know,
10:41you don't get that a lot.
10:42And I feel like this is the first time.
10:44And I would deck it in our time that we got that just for one
10:48final thought, just on this fight.
10:50You know, we have seen a lot of young guys go in there with Canelo.
10:53What is your particular plan?
10:54How do you plan on beating him?
10:56What, what, what do you think is your secret sauce to get this
10:58done and get your arm raised?
10:59Is it finishing them early?
11:01Do you plan on boxing the socks off?
11:02Like what, what is the thing that you guys have been focusing on to
11:05get this job ultimately done?
11:07Break them down and take them all by the six round.
11:09He said, you're going to take me about April.
11:11I'm taking them all by the six and for everybody that's asking or that
11:15wants to know, you know, they're going to see September 14th, they're
11:17going to see greatness for sure.
11:19Like I said, man, you've you've sold the world.
11:21You've done a great job.
11:22We cannot wait for this matchup.
11:24Thanks for the time.
11:25I really appreciate it.
11:26I appreciate it.