Promoter Oscar De La Hoya took to social media to roast Edgar Berlanga, telling him that he’s “distracted” by focusing on him this week rather than his opponent, Canelo Alvarez, ahead of their fight this Saturday night.
Oscar questions why the U.S.-born Berlanga seems so upset with him and thinks that maybe he’s upset because he asked to see his Puerto Rican birth certificate to prove if he’s from there or not.
Berlanga said he would slap De La Hoya when he sees him because he’s been talking down his fight with Canelo, predicting that it will bring in only 100,000 PPV buys.
De La Hoya says Berlanga might also be upset with him because he said he’s a “subpar” opponent for Canelo, who he feels should be fighting a better opponent, like David Benavidez, Artur Beterbiev, or Dmitry Bivol.
“Edgar Berlanga, you stopped the press conference yesterday to mention my name,” said Oscar De La Hoya during his Clap Back Thursdays for this week. “You said you’re going to slap me when you see me next. Why? Because I asked to see your Puerto Rican birth certificate because you’re not really Puerto Rican.
“I’m asking because when I fought [Felix] Trinidad [on September 18, 1999], he had the entire island [Puerto Rico] travel to Las Vegas to support him, or are you upset because I said you’re a subpar opponent for Canelo? These are the facts, bro. Don’t let them get you rattled.”
It does strike some fans odd that Berlanga has been calling himself Puerto Rican because they feel that he’s using nationalism to try and bring in more PPV buys.
“Dude, you are not fighting me. You are distracted, so you had better get locked in because Canelo is going to tap that [backside] this weekend. Good luck, and enjoy your first and last PPV experience,” said De La Hoya.
If Berlanga looks decent in a losing effort, he’ll still likely be on PPV in the future if he’s matched against fighters like Jaime Munguia, David Benavidez, or Caleb Plant.