Edgar “The Chosen One” Berlanga (13-0, 13 KOs), the Puerto Rican puncher who calls Brooklyn home and has 13 first-round knockouts to begin his pro career, will return in an eight-round super middleweight bout Saturday, March 14 at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden.
Berlanga’s opponent will be announced next week.
Berlanga’s bout will be part of the ESPN+ undercard stream (7 p.m. ET) before the ESPN-televised doubleheader (10:30 p.m. ET) that includes Shakur Stevenson’s WBO featherweight world title defense against Miguel Marriaga and the featherweight showdown between former world champion Jessie Magdaleno and Sakaria Lukas. The full undercard will be available in English and Spanish.
“Hopefully, I can get in some rounds on March 14,” Berlanga said. “I want to show everyone I’m more than a one-round fighter. This is my time to shine.”
Berlanga, a four-year pro, is one of the sport’s hottest prospects, a 22-year-old with an eraser in both hands. He went 4-0 in 2019 after signing a long-term promotional deal with Top Rank. He turned heads last December at Madison Square Garden on the Terence Crawford-Egidijus Kavaliauskas undercard, as he stopped Cesar Nunez (16-1-1 at the time) at 2:45 of the opening round. That marked the longest appearance of his career.
The ESPN+ stream is also scheduled to include the following bouts:
- John “El Terrible” Bauza (13-0, 5 KOs), the Puerto Rican-born super lightweight prospect from North Bergen, N.J., will take on Brooklyn’s upset-minded Romain Tomas (8-3, 1 KO) in an eight-rounder.
- Brooklyn’s Frederic Julian (12-0, 10 KOs) will look for his 10th consecutive knockout in a six-round light heavyweight fight against Victor Darocha (9-5-1, 6 KOs).
- Mathew “Lefty Gunz” Gonzalez (10-0, 6 KOs), from the Ridgewood section of Queens, will fight West Virginia native Dakota Linger (12-3-2, 8 KOs) in a six-round welterweight tilt.
- New York City native Pablo Valdez (3-0, 3 KOs) will face Jordan Morales (3-7, 2 KOs) in a four-rounder at welterweight. Valdez, 36, turned pro in July 2018 following an eight-year prison sentence.