The sport of boxing is in a wonderful place. At the top of the sport, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are gearing up for an all-out war in Saudi Arabia. Elsewhere, Canelo “Saul” Alvarez is on a run to take out the entire 168-pound division. Not to mention, Youtube sensation Jake Paul is taking celebrity boxing to new heights. In the midst of all that is happening, there are a new crop of stars taking over the sport. Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, Teofimo Lopez, Gervonta Davis and so many other fighters under the age of 26 are making their name in the sport. Perhaps the most exciting young prospect in the sport is New York’s own Edgar Berlanga.
Edgar Berlanga of Brooklyn, New York has been the most exciting first-round fighter in the sport. Coming into his bout against Demond Nicholson, the New Yorker had earned sixteen straight first-round knockouts. Given his power, many thought he would continue that straight streak and they were wrong. While the Puerto Rican boxer didn’t stop the savvy veteran in the first round, he scored two clear knockdowns and two more knockdowns that Nicholson disputed. The most frightening of the four knockdowns came with fifteen seconds left in the fight, but Nicholson made it out. In the end, Berlanga advanced his winning streak to seventeen wins with a unanimous decision win. The three judges turned in scores of 79-68, 79-69 and 79-69.
Moving forward, Berlanga will look to step up his competition even further. His last five fights have come against fighters with a combined record of 69-11-6, so there isn’t much farther up he can go without fighting for a title.
