| Puerto Rican star met Mexican ruler in final press conference today |
| Edgar Berlanga “This is the opportunity of a lifetime for Team Berlanga. It’s gonna be a firefight this weekend. On Saturday night, I’m gonna make everyone a believer. We have Puerto Rico vs. Mexico and we’re going at it on Saturday night. “I’m a knockout artist. Every fighter wants the knockout. We know that he’s a legend and we can’t just go swing for the fences. We have to do it the right way. Sixth-round knockout, that’s what we’re going for. But we’re ready for all 12 rounds if we have to. “It’s gonna be a big fight Saturday and it’s gonna be something amazing. Right now is the calm before the storm. We’re gonna make history and become legends. “It means everything to be in this position. I’m not supposed to be here. I’ve been doubted since before I turned pro. But I knew that I was bound to end up in this position. “I could be the face of Puerto Rican boxing after Saturday night. I’ve wanted that for many years and now it’s my turn to do it.” Canelo Álvarez “It’s easy to say you’ll knock me out, but it’s much more difficult to do it. Saturday night is gonna be very difficult for him, for sure. I’ve prepared for the knockout. I love the feeling of a knockout and I’m gonna do my best to get it done. “I just can’t wait for Saturday night. This is going to be a great matchup for the people. Mexico vs. Puerto Rico is always exciting. “It’s an honor to fight on this date. Mexican Independence Day is very important for us. It’s very special and I’m very proud to fight for the Mexican people. “I always put 100 per cent into my fights and into training, no matter who I’m fighting. It’s the same mentality every fight. This is no exception. I’ve had a great training camp and I’m ready. “The fans mean everything to me and I appreciate them. They support me no matter what and I’m thankful for everyone who’s supported me throughout my career. “I just want to show everyone that I’m still the best. I still love this sport. When I stop loving it, you’ll know. I love my routine and I love going to the gym every day.” Eddy Reynoso, Canelo’s manager and trainer “We’ve trained hard because we know we are facing a young fighter coming to take our spot. Berlanga is strong and he wants to prove himself against Canelo. “We’ve been very thorough in training for his fight. We have everything we need for Berlanga and we’re coming to make history.” Marc Ferrait, Berlanga’s trainer “We’re very happy for this opportunity, as any other fight camp would be for this position. We’ve trained very hard, we know that this fight is not about physicality, size. Canelo has never said Edgar is a bad fighter or about his physically attributes, he’s spoke about experience and intelligence, which he thinks Edgar has none of. Well, we’re here to make a statement, to show the world that on Saturday you are going to a lot of experience, patience, and a lot of execution. We’re not going to take away Edgar’s explosiveness, it’s going to be right there for him. “Canelo is smart. He’s not going to come out and fight him right away. That’s impossible. Because if he does, it’ll be a shootout early on. Canelo has said that he’s a better fight now than he was when he was 24. Why is that? It’s intelligence, experience, passive-aggressiveness. That’s what Edgar will have on Saturday. “Believe me, we are grateful to Team Canelo for the opportunity, because it’s the opportunity to knock the king off the throne. Every King’s reign comes to an end, but I know, as I told Edgar, he’s not going to want to give it to no Puerto Rican, and if we think Canelo doesn’t have it, oh he’s coming. We want the best of him because when we beat him on Saturday we don’t want to say he’s an old Canelo, he’s had too many fights. Let’s keep in mind, Canelo has had 25 defenses, that’s more than Edgar has had fights in his career. But I believe in my kid, I believe in my guy, the same way Eddy Reynoso brought Canelo up, I brought Edgar up. This is not only a fight for Edgar, but I’ve had to do my homework for Eddy, who is a great trainer. On Saturday you will see Edgar perform, and I will be a fan too as you will see something that not even I have seen. It’ll be a very exciting fight, don’t overlook Edgar. The media can say what they want.” Eddie Hearn, chairman of Matchroom Sport “It’s a special weekend, Mexican Independence Day, and another defense of the undisputed championship from the great Canelo Álvarez. “I’m excited about this fight. You know when two guys come face-to-face and when someone has the cajones to take on Canelo for real. Not talk about it, not survive 12 rounds, but when these two look each other in the eye, you know that they just want to f**k each other up. “Edgar is here to fight. I’ve been involved in so many of these fights, sometimes on Canelo’s side, sometimes on the other side. When I arrived in Las Vegas yesterday, I saw the most determined, most confident and most ballsy challenger I’ve seen yet taking on Canelo in Edgar. “I know what Canelo wants at this stage of his career, he wants a real fight. Edgar is 22-0, undefeated, he’s young, he has no miles on the clock. He punches hard, he’s got an underrated boxing IQ, and when we signed him we said one thing; two headline fights and then the shot at Canelo. Everything has happened beautifully, we want to thank PBC and Team Canelo for the opportunity, and it’s a massive opportunity. This is the lottery ticket of boxing, we’re in Vegas, it’s where you roll the dice. But we’re not coming to roll the dice, we’re coming to collect the winning ticket. “I promise you, the atmosphere in the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night is going to be incredible. Thank you to Amazon and our partners DAZN, another massive week ahead on DAZN with Anthony Joshua against Daniel Dubois in London in front of 96,000, what a time for boxing. This is a great fight and Edgar is here to win, he will give you action, don’t rule him out, enjoy the show and good luck to all.” |
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