Edgar Berlanga’s manager, Keith Connolly, says they’re taking the undercard slot for the March 15th event because it will lead to an opportunity for a “bigger fight” this summer.
Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs) is fighting Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz in the 10-round co-feature on the Austin Williams vs. Patrice Volny card at the Caribe Royale Orlando in Orlando, Florida. The event will be shown live on DAZN.
Possible Foes
The 35-year-old Gonzalez-Ortiz (20-0-1, 16 KOs) is Berlanga’s final fight of his contract with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom. If they give Berlanga an extension, that would likely involve a bigger fight involving one from his six-fighter hit list:
– Jamie Munguia
– Jermall Charlo
– Caleb Plant
– Hamzah Sheeraz
– Canelo Alvarez
– Diego Pacheco
Most of those names wouldn’t be seen as a big fight by fans. If the goal is for Berlanga to fight one of them and get a nice payday, that’s certainly doable. Munguia would be the best option for Berlanga to fight if his focus is on money only. Berlanga-Munguia might be big enough to be placed on DAZN PPV. Munguia is expected to fight a rematch with Bruno Surace next. He would have to come through that fight for him to be a viable option for Edgar to fight on PPV.
It’s understandable why he’d want a rematch with the Mexican star Canelo Alvarez, but to have a chance of that happening, it would require that Berlanga beat talented fighters like David Benavidez, Dmitry Bivol, David Morrell, and Artur Beterbiev. Unfortunately, Edgar could never beat any of those guys because he lacks the talent.
The names on Berlanga’s hit list aren’t good enough to entice Canelo to bless him with another payday. Berlanga would have to earn it this time, and he doesn’t appear capable of doing that. If he were for real, he’d beat those guys. Berlanga’s best career win is against a 36-year-old Irish fighter named Padraig McCrory.
The realistic options for Berlanga would be the guys that Hearn can negotiate with, like Pacheco, Sheeraz, and Plant.
Per @EdgarBerlangaJr manager Keith Connolly on the next fight: “Without getting into too much detail, Edgar could have done a main event in March. Instead we did a smaller co-main deal because this deal is going to create an opportunity to do a much bigger fight this summer.”
— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) February 11, 2025
Berlanga’s performance in his loss to Canelo on September 14th last year wasn’t good enough to give him a chance of beating any of the six fighters on his hit list.
Last Updated on 02/11/2025