The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Boxing with Chris Mannix - The Canelo Sweepstakes

Episode Date: February 24, 2024

Mannix sits down with Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn to discuss the latest on Canelo Alvarez, Gervonta Davis’s decision to face Frank Martin, what’s next for Conor Benn, what Edgar Berlanga needs to do on Saturday and more; later, Mannix and Berlanga talk his win over Jason Quigley, rumors of a fight with Canelo and why he’s physically at his best for Saturday’s showdown with Padraig McCrory. #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes.

Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith Rule of Two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. guess. The volume.

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Watch this. Hosted by S.I.'s Chris Manix. That was my moment. Now with interviews, analysis, and everything going on in the world of boxing. When you have talent, you are given another chance. Here's Chris Manix. All right, second podcast this week. Start to like doing two podcasts.

starting to like getting more content out onto the podcast feed. If you missed the earlier episode, it was a conversation with Paul Spadaforah, the former lightweight champion whose career was plagued by demons, by drug and alcohol issues. Just a lot of things were going on in the life of Paul Spadafore while he was one of the top lightweights in all the boxes. We'll get into all of that in the last episode.

So go back, check that out if you haven't heard it yet. This week's episode, or this episode that you're about to listen to right now, more of a meat and potatoes boxing discussion. I am down in Orlando, Florida, the site of the Edgar Berlanga, Patrick McGorry's super middleweight fight. Loud on the line for Edgar Berlanga in this one, he has got to come up not just with a win, but a big win, an emphatic win, to put himself in the mix for big fights against Canelo Alvarez, against Jaime Mungia, all the top tier guys at 168. his promoter Eddie Hearn joins me to sit down, talk about that.

We get into all the gossip, all the rumors that have flooded social media about Canelo Alvarez over the last couple of days. Eddie offers his insight into that. We also talk about the making of the Ryan Garcia-Devin-Haney fight. The press tour for that event is going to be next week in New York in L.A. I'll be at the New York stop for that fight. Then Burlanga, what does Eddie Hearn need to see from Egg? Beirang in this big matchup with Padra McRoy. A little bit later on, Berlanga himself drops by.

And look, we get into the Quigley fight, which was a, you know, look, it was a clear win, but not one that left a lot of people overly impressed with Edgar Belanga. We talk about some of the changes that he's made and why he feels like he's at his best right now going into this fight. So stick around for that. Eddie Hearn, Edgar Berlanga, two really good conversations on the show. One quick housekeeping note. I mentioned on the last episode we are looking into doing a live show in advance of the Ryan

Garcia-Devin Haney fight. I was surprised to learn this week that that fight would be in New York. I had been expecting it to be in Las Vegas over the last couple of weeks since that fight came together. It will be in New York at the Barclays Center, which actually is even better for doing a live show. A lot of people in New York City, a lot of people in a lot of people in a lot of around New York City, easy city to get to,

if you want to come to this Garcia-Haney fight. I think we're going to do it. I think we're going to do a live show either Friday or maybe even Saturday afternoon before the Haney-Garcia fight. And I still want to get the feedback of this audience on that. If we do a live show, would you be interested in going? Would you buy a ticket?

Would you want to be there and sit there for an hour, hour and a half, and listen to me and to Sergio and a whole bunch of other boxing people, talk boxing for, you know, an hour or so on this feed. So let me know what you think. Get at me either in the comments on Apple Podcast, social media. A bunch of you have commented to me already.

Love the feedback. Love this audience. You guys are as passionate as any audience in the podcast business. So I would love to get to hear from you as to whether or not you be interested in going to a live show. All right. So there's that. Now, here is my conversation.

with Eddie Hearn. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw,

unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, Follow at Clifford and a TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast.

I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know.

I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah.

For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, Eddie Hearn is here. Matchroom Boxing. It's got a big show this weekend, headlined by Super Middleweight Edgar Berlanga going up against Patrick McCrory. It's a fight you can watch live on DeZone. Eddie is with me for his semi-regular state of boxing appearance. I know you've got your British guys, your Coogan's, your Parsons.

But this is the American audience you're tapping into it. right up there now. We are 40, 50,000 strong every weekend. There you go. We need this. Welcome, welcome, everybody. This conversation. We're actually thinking about doing a live show in New York before Garcia Haney.

Would you appear at the live show? Absolutely. If I'm not kicked out by Oscar by then. That's a separate conversation there. I want to get to this fight. You can hear the music in the background. Berlanga, McCrory Wayan, about to start here in Orlando. But the news that is running rampant on social media,

is what is next for Canelo Alvarez? It's everywhere. And there are like breadcrumbs being dropped by everyone out there. You had Canello on Instagram posting a picture at a poker table that had Omaha on it, which led people to believe that Terence Crawford was in the mix. You have Samson Lukowitz out there saying they have made an offer in excess of $55 million for Canelo to fight David Benavides. then just today, you've got Eddie Renoso saying no one, including you, Eddie Hearn, has offered Canello a fight against David Benavita. So, as we sit here on Friday, what do you know about

the future of Canelo Alvarez? I know that he'll fight anybody. I mean, that's the first thing. You know, I've worked with him long enough to know that. I know that he's a smart businessman. I know he doesn't like to mess around. He doesn't like to be messed around as well. that if I'm looking at it commercially, the fight for him right now is Jaime Mungir. You know, I think that's a massive fight. Mungir was fantastic against Ryder. He stopped John Ryder.

It's an all-Mexican fight. The Benavides fight is huge as well. And, you know, even Edgar Belanger, you know, a fight that could be huge with Mexico, Puerto Rico. I appreciate Edgar's got to look good this weekend. May need another flagship win. But, you know, I don't see why not. So I think at the stage that Sal was at now, he wants people that come to fight.

He wants probably younger people with ambition that come to actually give the public great fights because I think he's probably feeling a little bit frustrated that people keep coming to fight him that don't actually try and walk him down, engage and try and win the fight. You know, particularly in the last fight against Charler. And I think he probably feels that in the next fight, potentially against the brother, that would happen again. And let's be honest, who wants to see that for? fight. So he's obviously in the middle of a agreement or a promise from BBC and I guess it's a case of whether they can deliver on their promises. Honestly, never known him to not accept a fight,

to turn down a fight, to say no to anybody, but it's got to make sense. And, you know, I'm guessing they've had a plan, but the plan might have deviated. And now it's up to sell to see what his next move is. Why do you think that the Benavides fight is not an obvious fight for him? Because even if the 55 million is not true, it's probably still the biggest purse he can get to fight anyone at super middleweight or below. Benevides is the most accomplished guy he hasn't fought yet. And to your point, he comes to fight. He's not going to be running the way Jermal-Charlis. Why is that fight in your mind with what you know, not the obvious pick? It is the obvious fight, but obviously they had a plan. You know, when they sat down on this three-fight plan, by the sounds of

things, they didn't sign an agreement that had David Benavides in it. Otherwise, Sal would be taking that fight. So, you know, like, I've spoke to Sal a couple of times. I know he'd take the David Benavides fight. Absolutely no problem with that at all. I think he's excited by that fight. He's excited by Mungir. He's excited by Belangor because he's excited by people that come to fight. He's also earned the right to do whatever he wants. Like, he's done everything in the He's created all the legacies, won all the championships, and he's going to take the fights he wants to fight. But I reiterate those are the fights that excite him. And I know the Benavides fight would excite him, but he's obviously in the middle now of a, like I said, a contract or a plan or a promise.

And if the promise or plan falls apart, maybe you don't see the Benavides fight. So, you know, he knows exactly what he's doing. Him and Eddie Rayneau, so smart operators, and, you know, I'm sure they'll make the right moves. To your point, he signed a three-fight deal with PBC. Do you get any sense that it might not be a three-fight deal with PBC? And that, you know, if he's going to do Mungia Buranga fights, that brings him back to your neck of the woods. Yeah, I mean, firstly, we never had anything official.

I did say this at the time, you know. Sal's always been against, you know, especially over the last three or four years, signing a longer-term deal. I think the longest one we did with him was two. So I was a bit surprised when I heard the three. I don't know the legalities of it. But if there's a plan that was originally not being adhered to or potentially deviated upon, he could make another move.

Obviously, we can make the Jaime Mungia fire instantly on DeZone. Mungia is exclusive to the zone with Golden Boy. So that's an obvious move to make. We also have Edgar Belanger. But, you know, I think Sal will certainly look to keep some of his independence to be able to do basically what he wants. So you had a brief flirtation with Gervante Davis. That was one of several flirtations you've had with Gervante Davis over the years. What was your reaction when it was reported that Gervante is going to face Frank Martin

some point in the next few months? Yeah, I don't know, really. I don't have too much to say on it. I mean, look, we made Gervantes an offer with a, you know, eight-figure minimum, with plenty of upside could have made him up to probably 20 million dollars to fight Connor Ben. I thought I actually thought you know I mean look I think Connor Ben's a really good fighter but he hasn't yet beat anyone of elite world level and I think that's why Javonsa called him out and said that's easy work for me but bit strange when they're not really willing to even sit down and entertain a conversation to fight a guy that they may you know call out as easy work so Frank Martin yeah I mean I don't know, is it a good fight?

Yeah, I guess so. Not really, I know Frank Martin, don't think anybody else really does, but he's going to do what he's going to do. You know, I think some people are very good at talking to people and convincing people that they need to, you know, stay in their lane and do this, rather than actually going and have a sensible business conversation

with somebody else. You can really pollute someone's mind. You know, I mean, bear of mind I've met Javanta Davis for about two minutes in my life, and we had a really nice conversation just before the way in when he beat Padraza for the world title, like the fact that he's not even willing to open up a conversation for 20 or 25 million dollars in a fight that, you know,

he probably thinks he's quite straightforward for him, just shows you the pollution that exists in boxing. But these are smart people, you know, and they like to, you know, make sure that people don't deviate from the original plan that might have been set in about eight years ago. So where do you turn now with Connor Ben? It was just a few weeks ago you said there was plans to have an appeal over in the UK. I don't know if there's any kind of new information on that, but regardless, where do you turn now with Connor Ben?

I think that Connor Ben has plenty of options. You know, some are realistic, some are not realistic. You saw Danny Garcia come out in the week, and, you know, I think that that's a great fight. Danny Garcia has huge credibility in the U.S., huge credibility in the UK. one of our preferred fights is actually Marios Barros. You know, he's WBC interim World toweight World Championship. That's a fight that could put him in a great position at 147 pounds. Obviously there's the U-Bank debacle.

There's Liam Smith, there's Kelbrook. They're all UK fights that we'll see if a possible pending this appeal coming up. Is that coming up? Yeah, it's been done. It's been done. So we wait on a decision. You're waiting on decision. Yeah, which is apparently, I don't know, two weeks,

but we've heard two weeks many times before. So it's imminent. And you're optimistic? Yeah, as we've been told. I mean, he won the case. Been told that he'll win the appeal, but anything can happen. So that will determine where he fights next. If it's in the UK, then, you know, the names that I mentioned are all possible. But if it's in the US, it will be more of a specific opponent.

But, you know, I do like the Marios Barras fight. I think it's a really competitive fight. And a fight that really will position him at world honors rather than just a big name, you know? Yeah, and Barros is probably going to become the full champion because I don't think Terrence Crawford's going to fight him. and eventually the WBC I would imagine would move him up. And he's not going to get that boot tennis fight now because it sounds like Cody Crowley is in line for that fight.

So that's a pretty good fight to make. Straight after this event, you are headed to New York for the press conference of Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney, working with your old pal Oscar for this event. Kind of, yeah. I'm sure they're really asking your opinion on a lot of things right now. I was a little bit surprised this fight got made because you've got two guys that make a lot of money

and have big egos, Firstly, jokes aside, I'll be there to support Devin and DeZone. A lot of the work has been done by Bill Haney and Oscar. We're there to support him and have been. And it's really, Devin's done fantastically well to land this fight because I do think it's the perfect fight for him. I don't think it's an easy fight, by the way. I think actually the style of Ryan Garcia is actually quite difficult for Devin.

In terms of who he could fight, like his reflexes are good, he's fast, he can punch, he's young, you know. and I think Devin will have his work Kay. I expect him to win. But I think it's like I have to take my hat off to Ryan Garcia as well because he's a big name. He didn't have to take this fight. He fought Tank. He came back with a win.

And this is his chance to, you know, really establish himself, win a world title against arguably the most difficult man to be in boxing now, pound for pound. You know, Devin is a fantastic tactician, a very bright fighter. I actually love the move to take the fight to the Barclays. Center in Brooklyn. I think you know people say oh why is this not in Vegas not every fight has to go in Las Vegas and if Canelo Box is there on May the 4th you know why not take it to New York Brooklyn's Brooklyn and Barclay Center is a

great venue and I think it will do really well that fight is for a 140 pound title you recently signed Subriel Matias who has another version of that belt what are your plans for Matias over the next couple of fights I was reading Liam Paro now out of not necessarily okay not necessarily I mean look matching Subreal-Matius is not easy. Like, when I signed him, the amount of people that came up to me in boxing and went, wow, now that is a major sign. I've heard similar things. There's, he's a real bad man.

I mean, so for me, I want to give him that homecoming fight in Puerto Rico in June, get him a top 15 name, really start pushing his profile because you see, in boxing, everybody's going to use the excuse of, oh, you know, not enough people know who he is. Do you what I mean? not enough people know who you know what's the value in fighting him even with a world title because that's the excuse I would make if I didn't represent Subreal Matisse Oh you went through this with Demetrius Andrade for about four years

Yeah but the difference with this is Demetrius is tricky Subriol is dangerous And I don't know a lot of people Big names that will be willing to put it on the line against him for the title Even though like if he didn't have a title He'd be in no man's land

but he's got a world title that gives him a lot of leverage. Now what we've got to do is increase his profile, shout with a megaphone. Let everybody know this is a real, you know, a Puerto Rican great. We've got to take him home to Puerto Rico. We've got to do 15,000 tickets. He's got to be in a fantastic fight, thrilled the audience, and then we move with momentum to try and secure a bigger name for the next one. And if that's not a unification fight, it's a Regis Progray,

or it's a Jose Ramirez, Or it's, you know, those kind of guys, you know, even a Jack Catchellor, Josh Taylor winner, you know. And this guy will fight anyone. And he's one of those guys that you represent, and you know you can just throw in. And he's got a great, great chance in every fight that exists in boxing. I'm sure Richson Hitchens, who listens to this show, is wondering where he fits in that. He fights.

Essentially, yeah. Exactly. So is that something. Yeah, that's a shoeing, really. I mean, you know, his fight against Lemos is a final eliminator. And if Richardson wants to fight Matea, look, that's a really good matchup. Because Richardson is an outstanding fighter, smart fighter. And although Matthias is strong and dangerous and a huge puncher,

Richardson's very difficult to beat, you know, almost like the same kind of school as Devin. I mean, look, the winner of Devin Haney against Ryan Garcia against Superreal Matisse in the unification is another big matchup. But that's a really risky fight. But Devin and Richardson, they're the kind of guys with the skills that are going to call Subreal, probably the most issues. Are you and Devin going to be able to avoid Sandor Martine to keep that belt? Well, you know, I think...

That's tough. They've got him to, you know, have a rest and stand by, but it won't last forever. Yeah. But, you know, I want to see unifications. I want to see people win all the belts, but at the same time you want to see the best fights, you know, and even Catcher against Taylor, we sold out on the first day.

You know, like 10, 11,000 tickets. Incredible, yeah. No belt. You know, great narrative, great history. But it just shows you. Javonte against Ryan. You know, no belt. But every fighter wants to win a world championship.

Every fighter wants to unify. Spicy press tours for both. Absolutely. Certainly. Let's talk about this card coming up on Saturday night. You have had a lot of fun antagonizing Kishon Davis when it comes to Andy Cruz. I think I saw a video of you saying basically you'll fight him for effectively free. You'll pay Andy Cruz, send him over to ESPN, do a fight with Kishon Davis.

Andy looked great his last time out. To me, that was exactly what you needed to see from Andy. Cruz, get an early knockout, and start to build his profile. But you've experienced this with young fighters. And even though Andy's on a fast track, how do you get guys to fight him? Because that's going to be a challenge. Yeah, it's the same thing we talked about, Subreal Mathias. Like, they'll use the excuse of, oh, he's a Cuban, no one knows who he is. Like, a lot of people are talking about Andy Cruz. And, you know, I found it really interesting that Keishon was told off last night. You know, he put a tweet out saying, send me an offer

straight after the fight, and I accept it. And he deleted it about 10 minutes later. which is basically a phone call from Top Rank to say, take that down now. Do you know what I mean? And listen, Kishon would fight him. No doubt. He's a fighter, you know, but he will be told by Brad Goodman and people who really know their boxing over at top rank.

Your palmer ready. No way. We are not going near Andy Cruz. So we're going to have some fun with it. And I don't do that to use Kishon's name because with all due respect, I'll be using Devin's name or, you know, Tiafimo's name or, you know, tank's name or any. about 135.

But at the end of the day, there is history there, there is narrative. I believe we can't lose that fight. So I am going to make him an offer that's going to make him extremely uncomfortable. And I'm going to say, you know, almost to a point where you could actually pay him nothing. We'll come for free and I'll pay. Just stick him on a headline on the SPN and see what happens. But we all know what's going to happen. You know, they'll never take the fight.

So we can't base our career back around Keish or Dave, especially when he's beating him, what, four times, four Neil in the amateurs and the Olympics. So, but this is actually a tougher fight for Andy. Zamorepa can move a bit. Like, Straffon in the last fight, just came, like, he just actually walked Straffon down. Normally it's in reverse, you know, and... That was impressive. It was really impressive.

Seeing the evolution quickly. Yeah, this will be trickier because Zamoripa can actually box off the front and back foot. And I thought, you know, many thought people, he beat Tashi Fierro in Tier 1. It's a very close fight. So we'll see how he looks his Saturday. All right. for you is Edgar Burlanga. Let's start with his last fight.

How did you feel about that performance against Jason Quigley? Solid. I mean, you know, he dropped him, didn't he early in the fight? And if he gets him out of there right then, it's a real statement. Ends up going the full distance. Drops him again or hurts him badly in the, I think the 12th. Been out of the ring for a long time.

I think this fight's going to tell us a lot more because I think McCrory is a lot more dangerous than Jason Quigley. Jason Quigley, Technically, maybe more sound, certainly a better amateur pedigree, been boxing for longer. But McCrory's big, strong 168, Quigley was coming up from middleweight, McCrory can really punch. It just comes down to how goody is under that kind of pressure at that level. But what I'm looking for is a spectacular performance, because if I'm going to bang from the rooftops, you know, scream and shout for him to go on and fight, you know, a massive fight with Canello or Mungia,

he's got to make a statement. And if he makes a statement here, it'll be really explosive because these two will meet in the middle of the ring and they can both really hit. Is it fair to say that a outcome similar to Jason Quigley would be kind of a loss for everyone.

Yeah, I think so. I mean, he has to be exciting. Listen, McCrory is top five in the world with some governing bodies. So any kind of victory is positive, but for me to be able to really push those megafights, I need a statement for Edgar Belanga in Orlando on Saturday. If Canelo fights in the PBC universe in his next fight, how confident are you that Berlanga Mungia will be the next fight for both?

Yeah, to be honest, it's such a great natural fight. I believe it's a 50-50, Mexico against Puerto Rico. You don't sound confident that it will be made? No, I think it will, but I think Canello will fight Mungia next. Really? Or Belanga. Yeah, I mean, I just don't... All comes back to that.

Yeah, it does. I mean, it all depends on... But look, if Canelo doesn't, it has to be Mungia against Belanga. You know? And that should be the final eliminator for Canelo Alvarez. But we've got two credible, exciting opponents ready to go on the zone for Canelo Alvarez. One is Belanga, one is Mungia. But Edgar's got to, like I said, make that statement on Saturday to put his name in the hat.

Took a kid to Disney World down here, didn't you? Oh, mate. One's behind me. But I will never moan about being on my own in a hotel again because having my kids here this week, listen, it's been a great experience, but wow, Universal Studios until about 9 o'clock last night, and then Benny Hahners got in about 11.

Wow. Never work so hard. That is the most American experience you can possibly get. Just stick me on a plane to Saudi. I'll just travel every day. It's a lot easier. Eddie, I appreciate it. Cheers, mate.

And when we come back, my conversation with Edgar Burlanga. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhancing. enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me.

Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment,

and the next we'll talk about life. mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream,

this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we picket here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because, of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. Yes.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, Edgar. Just finished pre-fight press conference.

Anything feel different about this fight? My mentality, you know, my mental feels a lot different. I feel like I had a fucking great camp. Sorry for cursing. No, I had a great camp. Free to curse here. I had a great camp. So that's why I'm like, I'm happy, man.

My weight is good. Camp went amazing. For the, I say for the first time, man. Because, you know, a lot of fighters go through a lot. You know, with injuries and, you know, getting sick, you know, because of the immune system and stuff. You know, a lot of real fighters understand it. So, you know, we was injury-free, you know, sick. You know, we haven't got sick.

So, you know, that's the most important thing. I'm just happy, man. I'm excited. You know, it was a big weekend for me. Orlando. This is Little Puerto Rico, as I call it, because, you know, all the Puerto Ricans moved from Puerto Rico over here. So it's going to be a big night, man. You called Orlando your second home this week.

Feel that way? Yeah, yeah, for sure. You know, my whole family lives like here. My grandmother lives out here. All my aunts, uncles, cousins. Like, besides New York, I have a lot of family I live out here, you know, and they're Puerto Rican. You got what I'm saying?

So, you know, it's going to be a lot of flags, a lot of Puerto Rican flags out there tonight, Saturday. Yeah, man, I'm excited. So when you talk about being injury-free, how banged up have you been going into previous fights and how do you feel that's affected your performances? You know, first of the foremost with the whole, when I told my bicep with a cosetas in Vegas, you know, that injury, I tell this to everybody, man, I'm worse out on no fighter, man, like tearing a bicep in a fight, the amount of, you know, therapy you have to get on it is insane, bro. And it's like, if you don't maintain it, it'll just get worse and worse and worse and worse and worse and worse. So, you know, I'm happy that, you know, this camp, you know, for the five months we've been training.

We've been attacking that, like, heavy, you know what I'm saying? And I'm good. I feel strong, man. Like, I feel great. I'm in great spirits. You know, going into camp, you know, you got to understand, like, see, the last fight with Quigley, a week and a half before the fire, blew my hamstring out. Sprinting on the truckmill for my last, you know, set of sprints, trying to get my, and then with the elbow thing again and the biceps. So it was like, it was just a lot, bro, and then my weight.

So it was like, then I was just getting back with Mark with my first trainer. So it was like, it was a lot going on, you know. But I'm happy that, you know, I came right back. I moved to Tampa. I got out of New York and I'm here, man. Blowing your hamstring out sounds like a pretty serious issue. Like, I mean, a lot of athletes, they need to take a lot of time off with something like that happens. Yeah, in front of Jesus, man.

You know, when I blew it, I was sprinting and I just felt the pull back. Boom! And I jumped off the treadmill. My dad was screaming at me. Why the fuck? Because I felt good, bro. And I was sprinting like on 15.0 on the treadmill. So I couldn't walk and I'm like, I started panicking.

I had a black and blue on my hamstring in the back of my leg. I couldn't run. I couldn't do shit, bro. It was like that whole week and a half, close to two weeks. It was like bad, bro. Like we couldn't run. We couldn't. I couldn't do no stepover.

It was a lot, bro. I had to do fucking, you know, treatment therapy every day, every twice a day, twice. Like trying to get it right, you know? Did that impact your movement in that fight against Quigley? Did it impact how you had to fight? Yeah, a thousand percent. You know, like my legs just felt like some Mephy after that, you know.

And if you know, when you, you know, you blow a hamstring out, it's tough, man. It's not the same. You know, I couldn't even get spawned. I was supposed to spot at least twice, twice more time after that happened. I couldn't. When you beat Quigley, you beat him convincingly. You knock him down four times. You get a decision.

You go 12 rounds for the first time in your career. But because of what you accomplished early in your career, whenever you don't get a knockout, people wonder what happened to Edgar Berlanga's power? Is he still that same guy? Could you feel some of that even after the Quigley fight? Yeah, yeah. I felt it, well, I felt that a less more, you know, because obviously I dropped him four times. But, you know, people got to understand, like Quigley came in tremendous shape for that fight.

He had a game plan, too. He fought differently than he fought against Andrew. A thousand percent. Anybody, like, the way we were studying him was. like different and you know where and delisa he said they thought we was going to come in like the old dagger and we came in you know different so you know I know every fight is going to come in like this guy this weekend you know Patrick is his biggest fighter his career he keeps saying it it's a life-changing fight so I know every fighter that a fight feels the same exact way you get what I'm

saying and that's why we got to be on point we got to stay 10 toes down we got to be sharp because you know anything can happen in boxing in a split second you know you get hit with a shot you don't see or if you're not training properly because you think i'm going to walk through this guy this guy's easy work and then shit happens you know so we we we prep it very well for each fighter that 16 fight first round knockout streak made you a big name early on in your career but as you look back at it now was there a curse element to it because you raised expectations to a completely unrealistic level yeah i know i know i know and it's crazy because my career is crazy you know you Catch first 16 fights, first-round knockouts,

and then you go to distance five times in a row. It's crazy. But, you know, I need it. I always say this is God's plan. You know, it's in my plan. I think everything happens for a reason. Like, I truly believe that. Like, when God wants certain,

for you to go a certain way, he's going to make everything possible for you to go that way. You know, and I'll leave it in his hands. You know, I didn't lose no power. I didn't lose no stress. None of that. Obviously, the competition, got better and you know and now I'm with Mark and it's like now you can't just go out there just blowing guys out now you got to look for those shots you got to use IQ you got to have that that willpower you have to you have to have to have to set your shots up and land good shots and get them out of there and then eventually get them out of there so that's what we've been working on now you know it's a different ballgame now you know I'm at that elite level where I have to do that you know and how I was fighting before you know that wasn't it you know just going in there and

just bombing dudes out. You know, that's not boxing. So, you know, now, you know, it's a different time now, you know. Second training camp in a row now working with Mark. What kind of difference has that make, having had him back in your life, back in your career? One is the mental. We always speak about mental. He always pushes me mentally, like, every day, like, even days, like, when I'm sparring, like,

there was a day when I was sparring in this camp, right? And I didn't feel good. And I told him, like, in the second. round I was like, Your Mark, and I had like three guys that had Najee Lopez. I had that Ravre Saint, and I had a guy in Patrick Cota that lined up. And I looked at them. I was like, we got to do 12 rounds today. I was like, fuck. And I didn't feel good at all, bro. And I'm in the second round in the sparring. I'm like, your Mark, I don't feel good. He's like, all right. You got a push. I'm like, I'm like, hey round come. I was like, yo, we go. A round's good. You know

I'm saying like because I didn't feel good and I stopped him I said no Mark I gotta do these 12 let me let me break this shit right even though I don't feel good and obviously because we in camps and you got certain days that were you off and you know we push man so that's one of the main things that I have the connection on Mark is that he pushes me mentally you know and then everything else comes after that you know once your mental's right the boxing becomes easy you know once you have that mental 4 to 2 and also you know working with his brother Ray for right you know if you don't know him, Ray for Wright is his brother. He was supposed to be the biggest thing coming out of New York behind, you know, Mike Tyson and, you know, something happened with him an incident and, you know,

he couldn't box no more. But, you know, I have him in my corner as well. And, you know, he pushes me mentally, you know, and then everything comes after that, brother. The guy you're fighting, Padra McGrory, I've watched a lot of his fights over the last couple of weeks. In the fights I've seen, he's a banger. Like, he comes out, especially early on, looking to fight. Are you expecting him to fight that way? Oh, of course. You know, he has a game plan, you know, and we know that. So even if he comes out to bang, right, I know that once I touch him or he feels any type of, like, power, even with the jab, I know his game plan is going to change, you know, even like if he tries to come out and fight. But a lot of these guys is going to try to come around, move around,

you know, he's going to probably try to mix it up a little bit, keep moving, keep moving using his legs. I feel like he don't have the legs that quickly got, you know, quickly. had tremendous legs. He doesn't have that because he relies on that right hand and those upper cuts. You know, so he could, he, he, he's going to get it either way, you know, whether he tries to move around as much as he wants or if he tries to bang. You know, we're there for that too. So bite down on our mouthpiece, you know what I'm saying? And just dig deep and just dig deep and and break his body down. Everyone knows what you want. You want the big fights. You want Canelo. You want Jaime Mangia. Eddie Hearn just,

moments ago said, if you look spectacular in this fight, you deserve a shot against Canello and May. Canello, as we speak, does not have an opponent's set for May. Do you think about that at all when you're preparing for a fight? Does that in your mind about how you're going to fight on Saturday night? Yeah, so like during camp, you know, I think about everything, you know, all these fighters and stuff, but I try to, like, zone in on my fighter, on a guy I'm fighting because none of that is possible unless I get through this weekend. You're going to be a lot of saying and none of this is possible if I don't get it get through this guy in a fashionable way the way we want it you know superstar status this weekend so I got to look great I got to perform

I got to look like a superstar this weekend man sound like a bright diamond you know so all the critics up set everybody up put the 168 division on notice call out Canelo after we beat this dude you know call on my gear and just you know and just really turn it up this year what does the superstar performance look like to you in your mind what is a a plus performance from you. For me, you know, I know I got heavy hands, but it's my boxing ability, you know, it's through our box great legs, you know, great jab, great head movement, great feet, you know, and just shining and have fun, you know, once all that, and then your mind is right, your mental is right. Sky's the limit, man, and that's what I mean about superstar status,

you know what I'm saying, like going there and just shine, going there and just show and prove everything that I've been fighting for for the last 20 years since I was seven years old, you know, make it out come to display this weekend. And this is you at 100% right? No physical issues coming in for the first time in a long time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I feel good, man. You know, I'm happy.

You know, this weekend is a big weekend. Superstar status. I keep saying, man, super star status, super star status this weekend. All right. Edgar, good luck to you, man. Thank you, brother. I appreciate it. Thank you, guys.

That's it for this week's episode. My thanks to Eddie Hearn and Edgar Berlanga for joining the show. As always, subscribe, rate, review this podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you download podcasts. And I'll see you next week. Thank you so much. I go sleep. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite.

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