Edgar Berlanga has chosen a new promoter.
BoxingScene.com has learned that the undefeated super middleweight contender and Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing have agreed to terms on a multi-fight agreement. The promotional plan for Berlanga, whose fights will now be streamed by DAZN through its exclusive content deal with Matchroom, is for him to fight Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez as part of this contract.
Alvarez also works with Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing. DAZN has streamed eight of the undisputed super middleweight champion’s past nine fights, the last two of which were pay-per-view main events.
Berlanga (20-0, 16 KOs) chose Hearn’s profitable proposal over lucrative offers from Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions and Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions. The 25-year-old Berlanga is expected to make his Matchroom and DAZN debut within the next couple months, but the date and the opponent for the popular Puerto Rican’s return haven’t been solidified.
The Brooklyn native is the fourth-ranked contender for Alvarez’s IBF and WBO super middleweight titles. Berlanga is ranked sixth by the WBA and 12th by the WBC for the two other 168-pound crowns Alvarez owns.
In his next fight, Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) is expected to box WBO interim super middleweight champ John Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs) on May 6 at a venue to be determined in Mexico.
Berlanga became a free agent last month when he and longtime promoter Top Rank Inc. agreed to part ways. Executives and matchmakers for Bob Arum’s Top Rank and Berlanga’s team disagreed for several months on how Berlanga should be matched and paid in 2023, which led to a separation settlement that was announced January 18.
England’s Hearn will try to get Berlanga back on a track after a tumultuous 2022 in which Berlanga remained undefeated, yet drew some criticism for his performances in back-to-back 10-round, unanimous-decision wins and served a six-month suspension for attempting to bite his most recent opponent.
Berlanga hasn’t fought since June 11, the night he out-boxed Colombian contender Alexis Angulo (27-3, 23 KOs) at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater. The New York State Athletic Commission suspended Berlanga for six months and fined him $10,000 following that 10-round battle because he tried to bite Angulo on his left shoulder during the seventh round.
Berlanga’s win against Angulo marked the fourth straight fight in which he has gone the distance. He previously attracted attention for knocking out each of his first 16 professional opponents in the first round.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.