Eddie Hearn and Matchroom hit New York City this weekend with new signing Edgar Berlanga taking on Jason Quigley in the evening’s main event at the Theater, Madison Square Garden.
Brooklyn native Berlanga had spent just over a year outside the ring having left promotional rivals Top Rank. Matchroom’s newest asset had appeared to be signed as a potential foe for Saul Canelo Alvarez, however the Mexican superstar signed with Premier Boxing Champions this week.
Quigley returned to the ring in April, shaking off the cobwebs against journeyman Gabor Gorbics. The Irishman had been inactive for nearly 18 months having previously lost by a 2nd round knockout to Demetrius Andrade for the middleweight title in New Hampshire. He came in as a big underdog.
Matchroom would see a third debutant get to work in June. World champions Sunny Edwards and Regis Prograis were expected to make a ‘statement’ it was no different in the lead up to Berlanga’s bout with Quigley, the New Yorker being constantly linked with the likes of Gennadiy Golovkin and Jaime Munguia.
The 1st round started with Quigley in the driving seat, his right hand landing well in the first 90 seconds. Quigley took control of the first 3 minutes as Berlanga was looking for the big shot, the Irishman falling under the right hand on the two occasions he loaded up.
Round 2 saw Berlanga take the center of the ring, landing a good jab followed by a nice left hook. However, despite the good start Quigley got back behind the jab, his movement helping him to pick up another round. The feints and sharpness of Quigley had nullified the powerful Berlanga in the opening rounds.
The 3rd saw Quigley again assert himself on the round with his counterpunching, ducking under a loaded up right hand from the American to land his own perfectly timed shot. Just one notable shot landed in the round from Berlanga who was looking predictable and one dimensional at this stage. However, Berlanga sent Quigley to the canvass with just seconds to spare from a skimming shot to the temple followed by a left hook to the body.
Quigley appeared to have recovered almost immediately at the beginning of the 4th but Berlanga had now turned the screw. A good left hook to the body saw Berlanga assert his dominance on a much less composed Quigley in the first half of the round. Quigley settled down to box well for the remainder of the round as Berlanga looked for a chance to cut him off.
The 5th started with Berlanga on the stalk with Quigley again on the back foot. Berlanga hit his opponent with a good left to the body to then land a big right to the head that drew blood from Quigley’s nose. The Irishman could be considered unlucky as he tripped on the canvass, the referee giving an immediate 8 count.
Round 6 started with a much more composed Berlanga looking to seriously establish his jab with Quigley still on the back foot. However, Quigley needed some rest bite from the New Yorker’s power. He did well to nullify the threat of the hometown man landing a big right hand himself in the closing seconds of the round.
Quigley was back in his boxing groove in the 7th, landing a good right and a decent left hand upstairs in the first 60 seconds. At the halfway stage of the round both men landed the left hook with Quigley coming off the better bringing a hesitancy from Berlanga for the next 2 minutes. Quigley was setting traps that were working to take another round.
The 8th round saw a slow in the pace with both men in the fight. Not too much to report as Berlanga started to look sluggish, Quigley appeared to have found a second wind. Quigley landed a right hand that was countered by a powerful jab to close out the quietest round so far.
Round 9 was tough to split. The first 90 seconds saw Berlanga land another powerful jab with Quigley connecting with a right to the head also. Quigley landed a good body shot at the halfway point which looked to have eased the punch outpoint of Berlanga for the rest of the round.
The 10th and the 11th saw a tentative Berlanga. Quigley seemed ever more energised controlling both rounds with his movement and jab. The full 6 minutes would see Quigley move Berlanga around the ring to his pleasure on the back foot. Quigley was hit below the belt at the end of the 11th, the referee giving a warning to Berlanga.
The 12th and final round had many scratching their heads as to which way the judges will swing. At this point Quigley had controlled the majority of the rounds but Berlanga’s two knockdowns had given the Irishman a large deficit to make up. The round started with another warning for Berlanga as he set about putting some holes in his opponent. He went after Quigley trying to cut off the ring. On the halfway mark Berlanga landed a big straight right hand to the head of Quigley sending him to the floor. Quigley was in survival mode clearly hurt receiving another knockdown with under a minute to spare. Quigley hung in there to see the final bell in a disappointing final round for the away fighter.
The scorecards read: 116-108, 118-106 and 116-108 to give Berlanga the wide unanimous decision victory improving his record to 21-0 (16 KOs). Quigley’s record moves to 20-3 (14 KOs).
