Edgar Berlanga posted earlier today that he will be “back soon” after suffering a crushing knockout loss to Hamzah Sheeraz last Saturday night in Queens, New York.
The way that the trash-talking Berlanga (23-2, 18 KOs) was blown out, it’s going to require a lot of magic from his manager, Keith Connolly, to try to rebuild him to where he’ll make the same money he’s been getting.
Berlanga reportedly received a $10 million purse for the Sheeraz (22-0-1, 18 KOs), along with the $10M he got for his failed title shot against Canelo Alvarez in 2024. That’s not bad for a fighter whose best career win is Padraig McCrory.
Rebuilding Berlanga: Tomato Can Circuit Return
It’s doubtful that Berlanga will fight any solid super middleweights during his rebuild. The chances of him beating fighters like Osley Iglesias, Diego Pacheco, and Christian Mbilli are remote.
What we’ll likely see is Edgar return to the tomato can circuit that he’d used to build his record on. From there, push for a rematch against Canelo so he can get “that big bag.” Obviously, that’s delusional at this point, but Berlanga will try.
“The journey is far from over. We will be back soon,” said Edgar Berlanga on social media.
Turki Alalshikh: Second Chances for Fighters
If Turki Alalshikh wants to keep using Berlanga for his events, he can still make good money fighting on his cards. Turki has shown a willingness in the past to give second chances to fighters who have been beaten. So, he might do that with Berlanga.
He may not get the same money he enjoyed for the Sheeraz and Canelo fights. But he’d still likely make more money than fighters with superior talent to his at 168 are making. It shows that talent doesn’t mean much anymore. It’s about who likes you.
“Berlanga was waiting too long. He should have had that pressure on him from the start. You can’t play around with a puncher. He was also a puncher,” said trainer Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis to YSM Sports Media about what Edgar Berlanga did wrong against Hamzah Sheeraz.
Berlanga looked scared from the first round, and didn’t want to attack Sheeraz for fear of being clipped. His hesitation led to his worst fears coming true.
“Sheeraz did what he was supposed to do. I told my man that it could happen, and it happened,” said Bozy. “When they were in close, Edgar was waiting sometimes to throw the shots. When Sheeraz got inside, he let his hands go. He was right in front of them, right there, and he was in close.”
Berlanga’s Skills Exposed: The Sheeraz Fight
It looked like Berlanga was waiting until he felt safe enough to throw because he saw how quick Sheeraz’s speed was. He looked outclassed in terms of technical skills. Sheeraz had a far better skill set and dominated the unskilled Berlanga.
“That’s where Berlanga should have had the advantage, but he wasn’t letting his hands go. Berlanga should have kept that pressure on him. He wasn’t pressuring him like he should have been,” said Bozy.
The years of fighting tomato cans didn’t prepare Berlanga for this moment, and he looked like he didn’t know what to do against Sheeraz. He showed no improvement from his loss to Canelo Alvarez.
“What he should have been doing was concentrating all the time on Sheeraz,” said Bozy about Berlanga needing to be focused on Hamzah instead of arguing with De La Hoya and talking so much trash.
Last Updated on 07/14/2025
Read the full article here