Brooklyn’s own Edgar Berlanga has found fresh ammunition to go after Canelo Alvarez and his team, following the recent PED scandal involving Jaime Munguia. The controversy traces back to Munguia’s loss to France’s Bruno Surace in December of last year—a fight he was heavily favored to win. In a stunning upset, Surace delivered a picture-perfect sixth-round knockout that rattled the boxing world. Determined to redeem himself, Munguia secured a rematch in May. But!
Ahead of the bout, in hopes of leveling up his performance, he enlisted the help of Canelo’s renowned trainer, Eddy Reynoso. Given that Canelo had already bested Munguia in 2024, the pairing seemed logical. Munguia went on to win the rematch via unanimous decision, but just when it looked like his redemption arc was complete, news broke that he had tested positive for exogenous testosterone metabolites, casting a dark cloud over his victory.
Fast forward to recently, Edgar Berlanga, who also tasted defeat at the hands of Canelo, appeared in an interview with Fight Hub TV, where he unloaded his thoughts on Munguia’s positive PED results. “I don’t know what the f**k [Munguia] was doing,” Berlanga said. “I heard that it had never happened to him until he got with Reynoso’s group… So maybe they are doing s**t that they’re not supposed to be doing.” Berlanga even had a theory of how things may have gone south for Munguia’s camp.
GQ Men Of tHe Year Black Carpet November 22, Mexico City, Mexico: Saul Alvarez El Canelo attends the black carpet of the GQ Men Of The Year Awards at Proyecto Publicol Prim. on November 22, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. Photo by Carlos Tischler/ Eyepix Group Copyright: xCarlosxTischler/xEyepixxGroupx CT_22112022_82073
“Maybe they didn’t clean him out at the right time, and he got caught up,” he claimed, adding, for now, “I just got to focus on July 12. After that, anything will go.” Berlanga is slated to square off against Hamzah Sheeraz on 12th July at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens. Regardless, it’s worth noting that Munguia’s B-sample also tested positive for PED. And now, his win over Surace is in jeopardy of getting overturned to a no-contest, along with disciplinary action from the BBBofC, which can be a suspension of 6 months to 1 year.
Despite the glaring evidence, Munguia’s team maintains that the ingestion of the PED wasn’t intentional. Meanwhile, Surace has advocated for his loss to be expunged and turned into a no-contest. Nonetheless, Berlanga isn’t the only one who thinks there’s something fishy going on in the Eddy Reynoso camp.
Former promoter for Canelo Alvarez echoes thoughts from Edgar Berlanga
According to a statement from Oscar De La Hoya from May, he has some serious concerns about Reynoso’s camp, where a troubling pattern of positive drug tests has emerged. Besides Munguia in Reynoso’s stable, the likes of Canelo Alvarez, Oscar Valdez, and Julio Cesar Martinez have also tested positive for performance-enhancing substances.
April 20, 2023, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA: Boxing legend and promoter Oscar De La Hoya address the media at the final press conference, PK, Pressekonferenz for the Tank Davis vs Ryan Garcia fight this Saturday from the T Mobile Arena on Showtime Pay Per View. Las Vegas USA – ZUMAd151 20230420_znp_d151_029 Copyright: xAdamxDelGiudicex
“Six fighters? I’m scratching my head, thinking, ‘Somebody’s guilty in that camp.’ Somebody is. I’m not sure who they’re going to pin it on, but…” Although De La Hoya didn’t directly accuse Reynoso, he didn’t hide his growing suspicion. “Until you’re guilty, and it’s proven, I can’t really talk about it. But when you have a trainer who has six fighters that test positive, something’s going on.”
It’s also worth mentioning that, while Ryan Garcia and Luis Nery also tested positive for PEDs, they weren’t training under Reynoso when their positive drug tests came.
In light of Edgar Berlanga and Oscar De La Hoya’s reaction to Jaime Munguia’s positive PED test, defending Eddy Reynoso has become increasingly difficult. As unease spreads throughout the boxing world, scrutiny over Reynoso’s camp and its training methods continues to intensify. However, there is no concrete proof that Reynoso had anything to do with it. Who do you think is to blame?
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