By: Sean Crose
Edgar Berlanga, who was last seen being bested by the great Canelo Alvarez last year, made his ring return Saturday evening against less than stellar opposition. It wasn’t that Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz was a particularly bad fighter (although his conditioning clearly could have been better). It was that Berlanga was such a higher caliber of boxer that a match between the two appeared to be completely meaningless to some. Still, to his credit, Berlanga stepped into the ring in Orlando on Saturday and took care of business in a fight broadcast live by DAZN.
Moving in on his man, Berlanga dropped his hapless opponent not once, but twice. Gonzalez-Ortiz was game enough to get up, but a final flurry from Berlanga led the referee to step in and stop the fight. The action didn’t last for a single round. Although the crushing victory didn’t exactly come as a surprise, there’s no denying that Berlanga has maintained his power during his ring absence. He also apparently maintained his weight in the leadup to this match, for he weighed in on Friday a full pound over the weight limit. Not that it might have mattered. By all appearances, this was the very definition of an easy night’s work.
“I was supposed to do that,” Berlanga admitted to IFL TV afterward. “I got him out of there early and now I’ll be off to the next one.” Berlanga then went on to make it clear that he plans on successfully beating other big names in his weight realm. “I’m going to do the same thing to Plant,” he said. “I’m going to do the same thing to Munguia. I’m going to do the same thing to Charlo. I’ve got dynamite in these hands.” He certainly appeared to against his overmatched opponent on Saturday. It will be interesting how his power will play against any of the possible names he mentioned post-fight.
Although Berlanga is now a free agent, he made it clear to IFL TV that he’s more than willing to work with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom in the future. Should Hearn be able to get Berlanga the fights he wants, there’s no reason to believe their previous partnership shouldn’t resume. Other promoters will be eyeing the man, however. Berlanga can make for good viewing – and that’s very important in today’s fight game. Indeed, Berlanga has indicated he’s a man whose willing to do his part to sell a fight – and that’s very important in today’s fight game, as well.
