Every single time, Edgar Berlanga brought up the same name.
The Post has interviewed the 27-year-old Brooklyn native five times as he has risen from one of boxing’s most exciting prospects to one of the sport’s most polarizing contenders. Regardless of his stature at the time, the same end goal, and icon, emerged without fail.
Canelo Alvarez.
Once a far-off dream has now become his current reality. Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) will challenge the legendary Alvarez (61-2-2) for his unified WBC, WBA and WBO super middleweight world titles Saturday night (8 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime PPV, PPV.com) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“It came faster than I expected,” Berlanga told The Post. “I definitely brought this into existence, I spoke this into existence. Keeping god first throughout my hard work, staying consistent, we got the opportunity. Sometimes I feel like it’s fate. Me watching the interviews with him or the press tour that we did, I’m like ‘damn, I did it.’ Or seeing my last name with his, it’s crazy. I’m blessed.
“I think it’s the perfect time for everything. Everything is just aligning the way it should be.”
Berlanga’s path to Saturday’s career-defining moment certainly wasn’t linear.
After emerging as a burgeoning star and ascending attraction — who incorporated hip-hop superstars Fat Joe, Luar La L and other Puerto Rican artists in his walkout entrances and earned “The Monster” as his nickname — by knocking out his first 16 opponents in the first round, Berlanga began to face questions about his legitimacy.
He went the distance in his next four fights as the quality of his opponents increased, and though he won all by unanimous decision, they were in far less impressive or dominant fashion as his previous showings.
He faced heavy criticism — that he was overrated, a product of favorable matchmaking, that his knockout streak wasn’t truly indicative of his ability.
He was suspended for six months after trying to bite Roamer Alexis Angulo’s ear in the last of those four bouts.
Then, as his career began to plateau, Berlanga changed promotional companies for a fresh start.
He left Bob Arum’s Top Rank, where he had been for the majority of his professional career, and joined Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom.
And it’s helped Berlanga get back on track.
“I like stars, and I like characters,” Hearn previously told The Post. “And the first thing is I walked into a meeting with Edgar Berlanga and he was sitting there in a mink coat, with chains all around his neck. And this is all about building characters. And I looked at him and I thought ‘he’s a character. He’s a personality.’ I know he can fight, he had 16 first-round knockouts. He was a very good amateur. And he’s also a super middleweight, same division as Canelo Alvarez, he’s from Puerto Rico, you’ve got that whole rivalry with Mexico there. I know he has a huge fanbase, because every time he fights, he does well at the gate.
“For us, whenever a fighter of that magnitude or with that kind of personality comes up, we want to make a play to try to get him. It was refreshing, and flattering, that he put his future in our hands.
“I sat down with Edgar and said ‘listen, you’re going to be important to us. You’re going to be a figurehead. We’re going to push you. We’re going to keep you active.’”
They certainly did.
When he joined Matchroom, Hearn’s plan for Berlanga was to fight twice, re-establish his standing in the division and then push for a fight against Alvarez.
But Alvarez, now 34 and more selective in the latter part of his career, has an endless list of fighters who constantly call out his name for bouts, as he almost always brings his opponents the most lucrative paydays of their careers given how big a draw he is.
Berlanga, who has fought at Madison Square Garden or the Madison Square Garden Theater five times and in New York City nine times, had to prove he was worth Alvarez’s time.
He beat Jason Quigley in his first fight with Matchroom, again via unanimous decision.
It was a bit more convincing than his previous four performances, however, as he knocked Quigley down four times.
In February, Berlanga stopped Padraig McCrory in the sixth round to secure his first knockout victory in five fights.
Those two bouts marked his first after reuniting with Marc Farrait, who had coached him through the early parts of his career before a long stint with Andre Rozier.
Berlanga believes the monster has re-emerged.
“I was giving the fans something to eat, and they were eating good with me knocking people out,” Berlanga said. “When I went those five fights the distance, it was like I put them on a diet. They started eating greens and s–t. And a lot of people don’t like diets. Then with my last knockout, they started feasting again.”
Still, Berlanga knows he’s a steep underdog. And he understands why.
Alvarez has only ever lost to the iconic Floyd Mayweather and current WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol in 65 career fights.
But Berlanga has waited for this moment his entire career. His moment of truth has finally arrived.
“We’re gonna shock the world. It’s definitely gonna be in the history books forever. … I’m calm. You know how they say the calm before the storm? That’s me.”