Edgar Berlanga motivated to prove naysayers wrong!

Edgar Berlanga won his first 16 fights by knockout. Each fight ended in the opening round. His name was buzzing in some boxing circles. He was the “Chosen One,” a star with prodigious talent and brutal power.

Things changed a year later. Berlanga was still undefeated, but his knockout streak had ended. Demond Nichols (who?) had snapped it.

Next up was Marcelo Coceres, who floored Berlanga in round nine and almost stopped him. Berlanga gathered himself and defeated Coceres over ten rounds.

Berlanga was distressed but upbeat months after the bout.

“Every fighter has to go through adversity in their career at least once or twice to show who they really are and to show if they’re capable of becoming a star in the sport or world champ,” Berlanga tells DAZN News. “That’s just boxing, so I know it comes with the territory. People felt like ‘oh, this guy’ that I was invincible. But I already knew I wasn’t.

Old pro-Steve Rolls was next. Gennadiy Golovkin had stopped Rolls in 2019, but the Canadian is tough and durable. He gave Berlanga hell-dropping a decision.

Berlanga was on another streak – but this one wasn’t nearly as sexy as the other one. Three decisions in a row. Where had the vaunted power gone? Like all sports, boxing has levels.

Though still winning, had Berlanga reached his?

Was that the answer?

Berlanga won his next two bouts by, you guessed it, a decision. He dominated Jason Quigley in his last fight – scoring four knockdowns.

Hall of Fame trainer Teddy Atlas believes Berlanga is a better fighter now.

This Saturday night in Orlando, FL, Berlanga meets Padraig McCrory.

Promoter Eddie Hearn feels Berlanga must perform Saturday night.

“Edgar Berlanga needs a statement,” Hearn told Matchroom Boxing a few weeks ago.

For his part, Berlanga is doing his best to ignore the negative.

“I don’t give a damn what [the critics] think,” said Berlanga to BoxingScene.com a few days ago. “I’m feeling stronger than ever.”

McCrory, a native of Belfast, enters the biggest fight of his career with a spotless record of 18-0.

“I’m his hardest fight. I’m a big 168 and he’s never taken anyone’s ‘0’. He sounds confident, but I think it’s all show. He’s trying to convince himself, and on Saturday, you’ll see that I’m his biggest test. I see myself knocking him out, you’ve seen him hurt heavy, and I believe I have the power to do it.

“People don’t expect me to win, I’m the big underdog, but on Saturday, the world is going to know my name. Winning this fight changes my life for good,” added McCrory.

Berlanga is not concerned.

“He depends on his right hand a lot and tries to shoot it at you, and he likes to fight,” said Berlanga. “As far as being dangerous, I am dangerous.  I don’t have to worry about anything.”

McCrory has scored only nine knockouts in his 18 fights, making his power questionable. His nickname “The Hammer” – doesn’t fit.

The thinking here is that Berlanga ends his “decision” streak.