Edgar Berlanga says he is not looking past Padraig McCrory despite potentially being close to facing Canelo Alvarez.
Berlanga takes on another undefeated super middleweight in the form of McCrory in Orlando this Saturday, live on DAZN.com.
However the unbeaten American has consistently been linked with a bout against the undisputed champion in the division.
A fight against the Mexican on his traditional Cinco de Mayo weekend appears unlikely, but it is feasible that he makes a fight with the champion later in the year.
With all the focus on Berlanga, he told BoxingScene.com that he would not get overwhelmed, and would keep his sights on his upcoming Irish opponent.
“I don’t look at it as overwhelming,” he said.
“I get excited. For me, it's just motivation. They keep mentioning him, so I know it is right there. All I’ve got to do is perform. That's my main thing, just looking amazing, showing the people and putting the 168 division on notice. I believe that if we look good and shine like a star, there's possibly a big fight with Canelo right after. So I'm just so locked in on this fight.
“I'm not really putting my mind on Canelo or any of those top guys at 168; my main focus right now is Padraig McCrory. He's undefeated, he's coming from Ireland, he's trying to shut me down and it’s basically my hometown, too – Orlando. So I'm just excited, and I'm locked in for this fight.”
He added: “I do get nervous. I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to sit here and be like, ‘Oh no, I don't get nervous’. I’ll be in my head a lot about a lot of things that are coming up because it's like, ‘Damn, it's actually here now;. So sometimes I even lose sleep at night thinking about it.
"But I take it as a good thing because I feel like all elite athletes go through that. You talk about Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Floyd Mayweather, Mike Tyson, and I know those great fighters and great athletes went through that, where it was about that time to be great and had a whole bunch of pressure on top of them.
"So sometimes I lose sleep over this, I'm not going to lie. It is there and I don't want to mess up. I feel like it’s my opportunity this year to actually go and shine like a star and really make my mark in the boxing game.”
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