Edgar Berlanga says he wants to capture the “bad IBF title” in 2025, and is targeting super middleweight champion William Skull this year.
Canelo Pipe's dream
Berlanga (22-1, 17 KO) has already laid out his plans to quickly capture the IBF title from Skull and use the belt as a lure to get a rematch against unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
Huge Berlanga $10 million payday Because that fight was beautiful, especially since he didn't have to fight any risky fights to get a title shot. He should be happy with that money because he won't get a second chance to fight Canelo, regardless of whether he gets the IBF belt.
If Berlanga wins this belt, he will have to immediately defend it against a top contender like Osley Iglesias, and he will lose it immediately.
It is doubtful that the Mexican star would be interested in facing Berlanga again soon, if at all. He will receive criticism for fighting a weak and undeserving citizen in Brooklyn, New York for the second time.
Rehydration barrier
Even if Berlanga is able to challenge for the IBF title, the 10-pound dehydration rule would reduce his chances of winning the belt. With his hydration back into the 90s, he was unable to cut weight to 178 for a secondary weight check on fight day. Berlanga was reportedly hydrated to 193 For his fight against Canelo. At this size, he should compete at light heavyweight.
Last September, Berlanga, 27, lost a wide 12-round unanimous decision to Canelo at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Dozens
118-109
118-109
117-110
“I want the IBF title so bad!!!! World Champion 2025!! said Edgar Berlanga on I'm Going to Sleep 🇵🇷🇵🇷” X About his desire to challenge IBF super middleweight champion William Skull for his belt.
Jump again?
Boxing fans on social media would rather not have Berlanga get a world title shot against IBF champion Skull. It would send the wrong message to fans that Berlanga can pass the top contenders for a repeat world title shot without winning them.
Why should Berlanga fight these contenders to get the title this time instead of having it handed to him on a silver platter:
Caleb plant
Osley Iglesias
Diego Pacheco
Christian Mbele
Bektemir Melikozyev
Jaime Munguia
Berlanga is ranked No. 4 WBA, No. 4 WBO and No. 6 WBC. Since he is not ranked in the top 15 by the International Boxing Federation, he is better off fighting for one of the other three belts. However, for Berlanga to put himself in a mandatory position for the WBA, WBC, and WBO belts, he would need to fight Plante, Iglesias, Mbele, or Pacheco.
In other words, the fighters who are most likely to defeat him easily. But if Berlanga goes after the weak IBF Skull belt, he would have the keys to a well-paid rematch against Canelo. This would be a crafty move on Berlanga's part, but it's doubtful he'll get the second fight with Canelo. The backlash from fans will be too much for the Mexican star to want to deal with.
