Speaker 1: Well, it is my great pleasure to welcome back to
our podcast. This week it is the super middleweight contender
and former world title challenger Edgar Berlanga. Edgar, you have
a pretty big fight coming up. I'll tell everybody what
you got going on. You're fighting the Britt Hamsa Shiraz,
the Life Belf. It's on his own pay per view.
It headlines the Ring Magazine card at the Louis Armstrong
Stadium in New York, your hometown, a card that Turkey
al Chica is putting on, and I'm looking forward to
seeing you back in action and seeing this matchup. How
have you been. I know before we clicked on the video,
you said you just finished up training getting ready for
the fight.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I just finished up training, doing my first workout
of the day. I feel good. You know, I'm all
here and Boulder just tape run down camp now. You
know it was a long camp, hard camp. You know,
been working hard. Man. I'm excited. You know what I'm saying.
Gilatoph is gonna be a big knife for me.
Speaker 1: Yes, sir, It's gonna be a big nut. I think
for boxing. Ten months ago you had the biggest opportunity
of your career, you got an opportunity to challenge the
unified champ, the superstar Canelo Alvarez, big fight in Las Vegas.
You know, he knocked you down in the third round.
He won a pretty wide decision. But you know, as
we've discussed before, but it was a good fight for
the fans, and you did a heck of a lot
better than a lot of people thought you were going
to do in that fight. A lot of guys and
gals didn't think you're getting out of the first couple
of rounds, but you gave him a solid go for
all twelve. And I wonder what did you take from
that experience? From the fight? What did you learn about
yourself and frankly your position within one hundred and sixty
eight pound weight class.
Speaker 2: You know, it was a great experience just learning, you
know what I'm saying. I felt like, you know, you
know that when when Canelo Floyd, you know, he learned
a lot. You know, I feel like it was the
same thing. I learned so much from that fight just
being in there. You know what a god at that love.
You know what I'm saying. You know, I gained a
lot of experience, a lot of IQ and now you
know what I'm saying now, I just for like, nobody
can stop me. Now you know, I know that nobody
could fuck with me. I think right now, you know
I'm at oh Man, So Chris stopped calling me.
Speaker 1: Little tech difictly I'm here from here. Continue as you were.
Speaker 2: Saying, you know, just you know, being in the ring
with him, you know, it was a great experience, you
know what I'm saying. I'm just getting all that or
I feel how it feels to fight in front of
twenty thousand people and then twenty thousand Mexicans at that,
you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: There there was a few perto Ricans. There are also
fort you know that it.
Speaker 2: Was every one Puerto Rican was probably like a hundred
Mexicans in that you know, So being in his being
in another guy's basically home turf, you know, I took everything. Well,
you know what I'm saying. I was dope for this man,
like I'm a superstar, you know.
Speaker 1: And well you can let the loss break you, right
you I think, did you tell me if I'm wrong
about this? Like you got the lost? Fine, guys lose
fights like Canelo you mentioned lost to Floyd. But I
feel like you gained, Like You're like, yeah, I can
really compete. I can be in this thing. I I'm
I'm gonna be more confident the next time. I know,
I'm I can be involved in these big events.
Speaker 2: Yeah for sure. Listen, man, you know I just edit
that experience. You know what I'm saying. You know, now
now that I got it, that's all I needed. You know,
I'm ready to go. You know what I'm saying. I'm
ready to take over the one six state division. You
know I know that. Man. You know I got to
scarut everything. You know, the only thing I lacked that
fight was experienced, you know what I'm saying. And obviously
he thought how many how many grace he for? You
know what I'm saying. So you know I just stopped
from from from from a low level to the lead
level super fast. You know, I handled it pretty well.
You know what I'm saying. I think that you know
now is off to the races. You know what I'm saying.
July twelve is gonna be another day, you know, another
day in the office. You know, you know, to to
the story his dude sharrags. Man, you know I'm going
to I know after this fight. You know what I'm saying,
I'm gonna be. I'm gonna be. I'm gonna be with
Turkey after this fight. You know. So, So let's see.
You know what I'm saying. Let's see.
Speaker 1: So your last fight, you know, you came back after
the Canelo fight, and you came back this past March,
and you scored a very easy first round knockout against
Jonathan Gonzalez o Kenda, who really had nothing for you.
He was had a great record, but he hadn't fought
for a while, or he'd been uh not had big
wins or anything like that. You dusted him like a
lot of folks expected. First of all, you had that big,
long streak of first round knockouts the starts your current.
Did it feel good to get back to getting a
first round ko?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Oh good? I got seventeen first round knockouts.
Speaker 1: Well, what is the fight like that for?
Speaker 2: People don't want to embrace that. The onnely guy at
the middleweight I'm the only guy right now current and
boxing that has seventeen first round nagos. You know what
I'm saying. I got eighteen nas, seventeen of them on
the first round you know, so people did not.
Speaker 1: Do anything for you that to fight though, coming back
in such an easy kind of win, What did that
do for you?
Speaker 2: It wasn't easy none. To look at everybody be doing, yeah, well,
I bet you, I'll put my I put my lot,
put my banker. And nobody was stopping that man in
the first round like that. Nobody, I'll promise you. Nobody, nobody, nobody, nobody.
Speaker 1: That was your last fight with with Eddie Herd and
Matt Troom, and there was a lot of discussion beforehand
about the way that that all came out. You wound
up on an undercard because of your contract situation, you
didn't do an extension, et cetera. We'd all disappointed kind
of with the way that that ended. You know, you
go from the huge spotlight of a main event against Canelo.
Speaker 2: We was already set, We already was set to fight.
Was in March eighth and Chrodie sail in Puerto Rico,
sixteen thousand people, you know, and I was supposed to
be main event. And I had a lot of fighters
in Puerto Rico, young fighters that I was going to
be on that car getting ready, you know. So they
was upset you know, because that was going to be
a big turnoff for me. You know what I'm saying.
Being in Puerto Rico, you know, padlining and pr was
was going to be some you know, it was going
to be a dream for me, know what I'm saying.
Especially to do it at the Chroty Sale. You know,
that's the biggest. That's like the Masters Square Garden, but
in Puerto Rico. You know, So when they shifted me
over to the Curber or yeah, call me an event,
I was like, I was like, give me that ship,
then you want to play that give me a I
take it. I took it for a reason, and I
took way less money. But yeah, but you became an
I didn't like. I didn't let them enjoy nothing. I
gave it to that man in one round, you know
what I'm saying. So it's like, I want to treat
me like that, and I'm not going to think out
in the first round and you're not getting no show.
Speaker 1: And then you became a free agent, a free.
Speaker 2: Agent, and now you know, I'm not still I'm still
not signing nobody. You know, right now, I'm still a
free I'm basically still a free agent. I just find it.
I'll just the one deal with twelve. So you know,
after what I'm saying, after this fight, we're gonna see
who really who really gonna drop the bag, and you
know who won't really make it happen. You know, I
want to I want to fight one more time this year.
Speaker 1: You know, So, were you at all surprised that they
gave you Sharaz is the opponent? And I say that
not nothing against Sharaze, but he had fought in middleweight
title fight his previos fighting announced his intentions to move
up after the draw that he had against Carl What's that?
Speaker 2: I said? He was on my list?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I was gonna say so that that sort of
to me, it sort of it kind of came out
of nowhere though, Like there wasn't like the boxing fans
and media talking about Berlangish yourras. Both fighters were known
to boxing fans and media, but it was sort of
seemed like an unusual matchup. How did that come about?
In your mind?
Speaker 2: They just they just you know, chieve my dad, you know,
Louis just came and it was just like we gotta
offer few, you know, find you low twelve. I said,
We're in New York They're like, Yeahsten, because I know
Tukey like to do all these big fights in one card.
I said, I'm gonna say you something. The only way
I'm taking his fights of our main event. I'm not
being no care main event for anybody in New York
right well who it is, you know what I'm saying.
I said, if I'm not main event in my city,
scratch me off that card. And there was a now
we're promising you that we're gonna put your main event.
I was all, send them on, let's do it. And
I really want to. I really want to like Mogia
or something, or like Kleub or one of those guys.
But you know, Caleb just lost, fucked up the bag.
Mungia tested positive, fucked up the bag, you know. So
you know it's starting to like, you know, my list
is starting to like drop little by little.
Speaker 1: So when when Sharaz fought Adonis Uh, it turned out
to be a draw, as I mentioned, but a lot
of people thought that it was a kind of a
poor performance from Hamza and also that should have won
the fight. I wonder what your impressions were of.
Speaker 2: That on step fight. He got gifted because he's in Saudi,
and he got He had you know, uncle, his poppy
Turkey with him. You know that Turkey is trying to
push him to beat this big, big, big thing. You
know what I'm saying, because that's his baby. So you
know they they scored a draw, but he got his
ass w bro. So now, don't blame the trainer, you
know what I'm saying. Oh, you can't blame the trainer.
You know it was just when competition step stepped up,
he folded, He got beat up in his in his
home town.
Speaker 1: He is moving up in wait to fight you. Uh
And so I wonder how you think that that will
make any difference. I asked that specifically because even him
coming up to a next weight class, he's still a
couple of inches taller than you, be six foot three,
a little bit a little bigger than you, still got
a little bit of a reach advantage on you. Do
you think that that plays any part that he'll have
at least some physical advantages from that standpoint against you.
Speaker 2: He ain't gonna have nothing. Anything he tried to do.
I'm breaking him down, I'm culting him. He's like he's
a he's a he's a tree. Cut him down or
cut him down. You know what I'm saying, He don't
got more IQ than me. He don't got more foot
movement at me. He don't got more head movement in me.
He don't got the same man. His man and power
don't don't don't add up either. You know what I'm saying,
My power is out of this world and I'm gonna
beat him mentally. You know what I'm saying with this
with the mind, you know what I'm saying this, I
don't care what he what he got going on. You know,
I'm unpredictable. That's the problem with me everything.
Speaker 1: You guys way, you guys have been going back and
forth hard with each other on you know, the press conference,
social media, that kind of thing. Uh is that is
that sort of like are you like? What is that?
What annoys you about him?
Speaker 2: And I know it's personal. You know you've seen what
Turkey put out. You know, if Sharaz gets knocked out,
you know it's gonna be a disaster, you know for
my plans that I have for him. So it's personal.
I'm taking I'm taking the very personal.
Speaker 1: Like you know, Turk is rude for him to win
the fight.
Speaker 2: Of course, obviously that that that post was set everything.
You know what I'm saying, But I already knew that what
I'm saying, but I'm not I'm not afraid of smoke.
You know, I know who I walk with. You know,
I woke with christ and let me talk. Yeah, that fight,
it's gonna be something spectacular. Man. He just he just
built it up even more to where once I destroyed
this dude, I'm I'm gonna become the one of the
biggest stars in the sport of boxing.
Speaker 1: Do you at least give him some credit for coming
to fight you in your hometown.
Speaker 2: He was forced, we think, I don't know. He was
forced to take the fight on me. You know why
he was forced because Turkey said, Hey, you gotta fight
this guy, but beat him. I'm gonna give you Canelo,
So come on. You know it's gonna be New York,
you know, and you get what I'm saying. He didn't
want to take that note. A man, a man that
loses his last fight, ain't gonna jump into a harder fight,
you know what I'm saying. They ain't gonna want to
do a rematch with the guy that they got they
asked for by just to prove to the people, right,
you know, I'm legit. You know it was it was
a close fight, you know, I wipe this dude off
the floor and then you get a hard fight after that.
But he ain't want that smoke. So now he's jumping
to me because Turkey's is offering him Canelo, you know.
And everything I said is the truth, you know what
I'm saying, Like you see that post what Turkey said. Yeah,
so you know, I'm just you know, I locked the man.
Speaker 1: Whatever, So I gotta I gotta wrap up with one
more question that this is sort of like when I
when I saw the stuff that was going on, I
was like, boy, maybe maybe Edgar Burlang is gonna have
to have two fights next week because I seen all
the stuff after. Yeah, and I've seen all the back
and forth that you've had with De la Hoya, who
is Golden Boy is one of the promoters of this event.
What in the world is the deal with you? He's
threatening you to slap or you're threatening to slap him,
or he's gonna slap you, and he's making videos about
you like you're living in his head. You've been posting
stuff on your social about him. At one point he
tried to sign you. You guys talk nothing but good
things about one another. What's up with you? Guys?
Speaker 2: Wanted it was him? He was throwing the shots. You know,
he he's as throwing shots, you know, because we don't
want to sound his his white guys. You know he
robs fighters, man, So you know, fuck fuck Oscar a Lajoya.
And like I said, you better have security because I
heard that he's he's packing up with a lot of security.
You better have a lot of secure. Can you go next?
And I'm smacking the shit out of him.
Speaker 1: You know, you don't want to mess up your bag?
Maybe all right, we will leave it there, Edgard, thank
you very much for your time.
Speaker 2: Oscar. Fuck Oscar.
Speaker 1: I'll be agnostic. I like both of you guys, so
I wish you good luck in the fight. And uh
and I'll be watching it all. Thank you, Thank you
very much.
Speaker 2: H