What do we make of Edgar Berlanga’s Matchroom Boxing debut?
Well, Edgar Berlanga picked up a twelve-round unanimous decision over Jason Quigley at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York - it didn’t shock the world - nor did it put Berlanga any closer to being the face of Puerto Rican boxing. That is something.
Earlier this week, Berlanga said the following to ProBox TV News which sets the stage for the perception the world judged Berlanga by.
Berlanga’s performance was dominant to a degree but had large lapses for a fight in which he dropped Quigley four times in the fight. In the post-fight press conference, Berlanga looked disappointed with himself, and despite winning - it appeared Berlanga didn’t win in the fashion he wanted to.
“I give [my performance tonight] a C,” Berlanga after the fight. “We had a great camp. I’m just glad I did it once again in front of my hometown people.”
Berlanga now has gone five straight fights without a knockout after starting his career with sixteen first-round knockouts, as Berlanga improbably never saw the second round until his seventeenth fight against Demond Nicholson. Now, it appears Berlanga’s mind is busier than ever as he feels that he is close to stardom, but is one-or-two performances away, yet has to have that breakthrough performance.
“I was supposed to step on the pedal early, and I was just leaning back, staying on my jab, trying to catch the distance,” said Berlanga in reflection after the fight. “We’re just going back to the drawing board. I get back in the gym in a week, and I get ready for what’s next.”
What is next was also hinted at by his new promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, who was promoting Berlanga for the first time. Hearn made it quite clear that he likes the idea of a match-up between Berlanga and Jaime Munguia, who has a co-promotional agreement with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, a man Hearn has had a Twitter feud with as of late.
“Edgar Berlanga-Jaime Munguia is a great fight,” Hearn said afterward. ““I love the Gennadiy Golovkin fight…I love Billy Joe Saunders maybe, John Ryder? I think Jaime Munguia is the right fight! It is two guys who are searching for that big fight, It’s Mexico Vs Puerto Rico, it’s going to be absolute fireworks. He’s going to be in a lot of fun fights, he’s got a lot of support.”
Now, 48 hours after Berlanga’s victory we do what we always do and become a Monday morning quarterback - that said, will we ever see the sensational Berlanga from his prospect days? The one who skipped being a contender and jumped into the spot of a main event fighter rather quickly…only time will tell, but with each fight in which he doesn’t get a knockout, a lingering doubt begins to emerge. Whether it is fair, or not, it is simply the truth.
