Edgar Berlanga’s first-round knockout streak had already been snapped at 16 the bout prior. Yet, the super middleweight was largely expected to add another scintillating highlight to his KO reel against Marcelo Esteban Coceres during the undercard of the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder trilogy in Las Vegas last October.
What Berlanga got instead was a hard-fought challenge from the rugged Argentinian, who put the Brooklyn fighter on his back with a slick counter right in the ninth round and even threatened to finish him moments later. Berlanga hung on to take the unanimous decision and improve to 18-0, but not before an invaluable lesson was learned. Namely — too much reckless headhunting can leave you vulnerable for major damage.
Berlanga is happy to have overcome that share of turbulence entering his first headliner next weekend against another veteran, Steve Rolls, at Madison Square Garden.
“Every fighter has to go through adversity in their career at least once or twice to show who they really are and to show if they’re capable of becoming a star in the sport or world champ,” Berlanga tells DAZN News. “That’s just boxing, so I know it comes with the territory. People felt like ‘oh, this guy’ that I was invincible. But I already knew I wasn’t.
“Like I said, it comes with the territory,” he continued. “It’s boxing and I’m happy that everything played out the way it did and I’m here now and main-eventing in New York.”
He certainly is. But be clear: Despite the lesson learned, the 24-year-old fully intends to set off fireworks and make Rolls his latest KO victim.
“He’s a veteran,” Berlanga says of Rolls. “He’s a type of guy, he’s been at that level. I needed that fight. I think Steve Rolls is a perfect opponent for me to showcase my skills especially off these two last fights that went the distance.”
The last time Rolls, 37, fought at the Garden, he hung tough with Gennadiy Golovkin for three rounds, until GGG detached the Canadian’s soul from his body via a devastating fourth-round knockout.
Rolls (22-1, 12 KOs) bounced back from that June 2019 defeat with stoppage wins over Gilberto Pereira dos Santos and Christopher Brooker in January 2020 and December 2021, respectively.
Of course, as a first-time headliner and fighting in his home city, Berlanga would like nothing more than to produce a pummeling of Rolls even more convincing than that of GGG's — if that’s even possible.
Perhaps, he’ll aim to do so while demonstrating tactics that he learned from headhunting too much against Coceres.
Berlanga believes an impactful victory can unlock a path that would have him one step closer to a possible world title shot at 168 pounds.
“I got this fight and if everything goes well — no injuries or what not — then I got June 11, Puerto Rican Day (Parade) weekend,” Berlanga touts. “I feel like those two fights will put me in line for a title or have negotiations with anyone who has a title if Canelo vacates any titles.
“I’m just happy to main event in my city.”
As a wiser, 24-year-old with a bit more mettle now.