Edgar Berlanga

Edgar Luis Berlanga Jr. (born May 18, 1997) is an American professional boxer. He challenged for the unified super middleweight championship in 2024. He started boxing at the age of 7, As a child, he was a fan of Félix Trinidad, a former world champion who frequently fought at Madison Square Garden.

Amateur career Berlanga began boxing at the age of seven, gathering an amateur record of 162–17. He has gone on to compile a record of 23–2, with 18 knockouts, 16 coming by first-round stoppage.

Chasing the record By late 2020, Berlanga's record had improved to 16–0, with all of his victories coming in the 1st round, although some critics would consider his previous opponents, "tin cans", catching the attention of media as he was closing in on the official world record for consecutive 1st-round KOs held by Ali Raymi. On December 12, 2020, Berlanga equalled Young Otto's record when he knocked out Ulises Sierra in the first round. Berlanga's attempt to capture the world record for consecutive 1st-round KOs ended on April 24, 2021 when he was taken the full distance in his unanimous decision victory against Demond Nicholson in his 17th pro fight.

Rise up the ranks

Berlanga vs. Cóceres On October 9, 2021 on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder III, Berlanga overcame a knockdown in the ninth round against former WBO title challenger Marcelo Cóceres to attain his eighteenth successive professional victory. He won via unanimous decision with all three scorecards reading 96–93.

Berlanga vs. Angulo Berlanga attracted controversy due to an incident during his June 11, 2022 fight against Roamer Alexis Angulo, during which a frustrated Berlanga attempted to bite Angulo on the shoulder. The incident was not noticed at the time by referee Ricky Gonzales. Berlanga went on to win the fight by unanimous decision. The following day Berlanga joked about the incident saying "I was about to do a Mike Tyson on him". Berlanga received criticism for this comment and later apologized. The New York State Athletic Commission later fined Berlanga $10,000 and suspended him from professional boxing for a period of six months for the incident.

Berlanga vs. McCrory On February 24, 2024 in Orlando, Florida, Berlanga faced Padraig McCrory in a 12-round bout at super middleweight. He won the fight by TKO in the sixth round.

World title challenge

Berlanga vs. Álvarez Berlanga challenged Canelo Álvarez for his WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight titles at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on September 14, 2024. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Attempting to regain composure

Berlanga vs Ortiz Berlanga returned to the ring in on March 15, 2025, in Orlando, Florida against Jonathan González Ortiz. Berlanga won by TKO in the first round, securing two knockdowns along the way. Berlanga missed the super middleweight limit by 1.6 lbs, but was still eligible to win the title.

Berlanga vs Sheeraz

After Berlanga's comeback win in March 2025, Berlanga wanted the hardest fight possible and thus accepted a fight with 6'3" undefeated Hamzah Sheeraz immediately. Sheeraz vs. Berlanga would headline the Riyadh Season fight night. Berlanga was confident coming into the fight despite all sports books marking him as the underdog. Both weighed the same 167.6 pounds.

Berlanga showed heart by surviving a clean knockout punch that affected him for the rest of the fight, he was down twice in the fourth round with a series of combinations, leaving the latter visibly shaken and struggling to survive until the end of the round. As the fifth round commenced, Sheeraz concluded the bout decisively with a right-left combination, sending Berlanga to the canvas for the third time. The referee, David Fields, promptly stopped the fight just 17 seconds into the round. According to CompuBox, Sheeraz landed 62 of 162 punches thrown (38.3%) and Berlanga landed 46 of his 119 thrown (38.7%).

On February 28, 2026, it was reported that Chris Eubank Jr. was in talks with Belanga's team for a fight in the first half of the year. At this stage, the main obstacle in arranging the fight was the weight. Eubank preferred a 164 pound catchweight, while Berlanga insisted he could not go below 168 pounds. Berlanga tweeted the fight could take place in London.

Zuffa Boxing On April 8, it was announced that Berlanga, along with super lightweight world champion Richardson Hitchins, signed a multi-fight deals with Zuffa Boxing. A debut would be scheduled for Summer 2026. Berlanga was planning on moving up in weight to compete in the light heavyweight division, which aligned with Zuffa’s recognised weight divisions.

Berlanga vs Butler Berlanga faced Steven Butler in a 10-round super middleweight main event at Zuffa Boxing 09 at the Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, on July 26, 2026. He was sent to the canvas in the second round but recovered to continue the bout and scored a knockdown of his own in the sixth round. Berlanga won by technical knockout when the referee halted the fight in the seventh round as Butler came under a sustained barrage of unanswered punches.

Professional boxing record