At times, the opponents of Edgar Berlanga can get caught up in his shiny and impressive record. Can you blame them? The 26-year-old is undefeated, and prior to his five-fight decision streak, Berlanga scored 16 consecutive first-round knockouts.
On paper, and in the ring, he looks the part. But while some may saunter their way through the arena with a bit of fear in their hearts, Padraig McCrory isn’t worried at all. With just a few weeks remaining, McCrory (18-0, 9 KOs) finds himself as a gigantic underdog. With that said, he simply wants the world to check him out on February 24th.
“I think he’s a good fighter,” admitted McCrory to International Boxing News during a recent interview. “He’s 21-0 with a lot of knockouts but I’m confident I can get the win.”
There’s no way around it, Berlanga (21-0, 16 KOs) needs a standout performance. The wins haven’t slowed down but the knockouts have evaporated. If you take a look at the Puerto Rican’s record, you’ll notice a few names. Jason Quigley, Berlanga’s most recent opponent, has fought for a world title. So has Marcelo Coceres. Roamer Alexis Angulo has been around the block a few times and Steve Rolls had his moment in the sun, albeit several years ago.
McCrory won’t sit there and lie to himself. He knows that Berlanga deserves the hype that’s surrounding him. But just because he’s willing to throw a few superlatives in his direction, it doesn’t mean McCrory is going to downplay himself.
Berlanga’s overall resume is a solid one but McCrory has a feeling that the young star doesn’t have a clue what he’s getting himself into.
“I think I’m definitely his hardest fight. I punch hard, I fight a bit different than most people. When I hit him, he’s gonna know he was hit.”