Eddie Hearn Responds to Edgar Berlanga’s Claims

Promoter Eddie Hearn responded to Edgar Berlanga’s accusations, rejecting claims that he failed to secure the necessary funds for a title shot against IBF super middleweight champion William Scull.

Berlanga alleged that Hearn treated him more like an employee than a “business partner,” arguing that if Hearn had genuinely supported him, he would have negotiated a deal with Scull—an opponent Berlanga believes he could have easily defeated—to set up another lucrative fight with Canelo.

Hearn stated that Scull demanded more than the $1.5 million Berlanga mentioned. He emphasized that Matchroom strictly adhered to Berlanga’s contract and had no intention of exceeding the financial terms outlined for the final fight of his promotional deal.

“It’s important to note that in our three fights with Edgar Berlanga, he headlined at Madison Square Garden against Jason Quigley. He also headlined against Padraig McCrory here in Orlando, Florida, and then he headlined against Canelo Alvarez at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas,” Hearn told Fighthype about what Matchroom delivered for Berlanga. 

“He made over $12 million with us. We’ve completely changed his life and his career,” Hearn continued about Edgar.

“What we’ve done is deliver everything we ever promised and more. We’re doing that again on Saturday night. It’s a good fight for him to get back to his winning ways and then move on to a bigger fight. If that’s with us, fantastic. We’d love to continue that relationship.”

Berlanga’s track record doesn’t justify the kind of money he’s earned with Matchroom. Out of his 22 victories, none have come against elite-level opponents. Despite this, Hearn still positioned him for a fight with Canelo without having to go through dangerous contenders like David Benavidez, David Morrell, Diego Pacheco, Caleb Plant, or Christian Mbilli.

“If it’s not, we say, ‘Good luck, Edgar. We completely delivered above and beyond our wildest dreams for you.’ Edgar has massive belief in his commercial star power,” Hearn said.

“A lot of fighters want to be partners or have their own promotional companies, but none of them want to put the money on the table. None of them want to take the risk.”

“‘Yeah, this is a partnership. In the promotional company, you’re working for me.’ ‘Okay, no problem. If the tickets don’t sell well and we lose $1 million, are you in for half?’ ‘Oh, no.’ ‘Okay, we take the risk and you want the logo on the backdrop.’ That’s how it works,” Hearn explained.

“We’re doing what’s outlined in the contract with Berlanga. We didn’t ask for an undercard slot. They did because they agreed to a certain amount of money, and they said, ‘That’s not a headline fight. That’s an undercard fight. So, we’ll just fight on the undercard in the comeback fight.’ I said, ‘Okay,’ and we move forward. He got a fortune to fight Canelo Alvarez.

“What he needs to do is switch on because this isn’t going to be an easy fight against Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz. This is a tough kid, and it’s a chance for him to change his life. If he starts thinking with his head all over the place, what he cannot afford is to look bad in this fight. What he definitely cannot do is lose,” Hearn said.