What started off as rather tame quickly turned explosive as the Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga press conference tour segued from New York City to Los Angeles earlier this month.
Berlanga, who challenges the unified super middleweight world champion September 14, live on DAZN, believes he struck a nerve with the boxing legend, especially in LA. The undefeated Brooklyn, New York fighter thinks he has gotten into Alvarez's head ahead of their bout.
"I just know that I sparked something in him for sure," Berlanga recently told the Tobin & Leroy Podcast. "He could say he's not going to have compassion for me. He was never going to have compassion for me. I'm Puerto Rican, he's Mexican.
"I definitely lit a fire in him for sure, but hey, that's what we all want, right?" Berlanga continued. "We want the guy, the best version of himself. So when I do beat him it's not going to be like 'oh, this guy, he took Edgar lightly.'
He added: "Nah, I made sure he came [correct]. I touched a couple of buttons in him that I made sure he came on his A-game that night. September 14, we are going to get the best Canelo and he's going to get the best Edgar Berlanga because I want what he got."
The 27-year-old Berlanga believes it's changing of the guard time and that boxing needs a new face. He vows that he's ready to force that issue into fruition.
"It's my time now," Berlanga declared. "He's already at the age he made history already. He's held the belts numerous years already and to be honest, people are just tired of him.
"They want a new guy to come in and shake the sport up," he offered, "and I know I'm the guy for that."
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