Canelo Alvarez dismisses UFC as competition and defends his choice to fight Edgar Berlanga, asserting his right to select opponents based on his accomplished career.
Canelo Alvarez doesn’t see UFC as competition.
The boxing superstar returns to action on Sept. 14. He’ll defend his WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight titles against Edgar Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs). This will be Alvarez’s 66th pro bout, taking place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Interestingly, it’s the same night as UFC 306, which is happening at the new Sphere venue just a few blocks away.
UFC CEO Dana White isn’t thrilled about MGM choosing T-Mobile Arena for their fight. Conor McGregor even warned that UFC’s show will overshadow Alvarez vs. Berlanga.
Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) responded to the trash talk during an interview on Million Dollaz Worth of Game. He’s confident he’ll beat UFC on Mexican Independence Day weekend.
“It’s just different,” Alvarez said. “Maybe other boxing matches, maybe, but Canelo is different. There are other kinds of fights, but Canelo is just different. I don’t care if the UFC is there; when Canelo fights, it’s different.”
Some critics argue that Berlanga lacks the notoriety of other potential challengers like WBC interim champion David Benavidez. Saudi promoter Turki Alalshikh accused Alvarez of intentionally pricing himself out of negotiations for a superfight with Terence Crawford. Alvarez’s response? A laughing emoji.
Alvarez explained why he feels justified in defending against Berlanga despite calls to take on other opponents.
“Look, at some point all the fighters did [what they were told],” Alvarez said. “[Oscar] De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, Julio Cesar Chavez, Mike Tyson—they all did this. There are stars and superstars, and they made the championship, not the other way around."
He continued: "I come and I do my career and I fight with [Miguel] Cotto with a clause, and I fight with Mayweather with a clause. I fight with everybody to build the Canelo Alvarez I am. Right now I can do whatever I want."
“The IBF says, ‘Hey, you need to fight with this because this.’ Who’s [William] Scull? I never hear about him until they say he’s my mandatory. I don’t want to do whatever they want; I want to do what I want."
"In this position, I can do whatever I want because I deserve it for all I’ve done. They said, ‘You don’t want to fight [Gennady] Golovkin,’ but I fought him. [Erislandy] Lara, Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders, Caleb Plant—I’ve fought them all."
"I did everything,” he emphasized. “Now [Berlanga]. But like I said, I’ve done everything and now I can ask for whatever I want and do whatever I want.”