Edgar Berlanga Impressive But No KO In Top Rank Main Event

Hard-hitting, unbeaten Super Middleweight Edgar Berlanga wanted to restore his impressive string of knockouts from earlier in his career during Saturday night’s Top Rank boxing main event in New York City. However, in the end he was not able to deliver the KO against veteran Steve Rolls, but still did get an easy decision victory to keep his record perfect.

The judges scores were 97-93 x2 and 96-94, as Berlanga was clearly the better and more aggressive fighter throughout the bout at the Hulu Theater adjacent to Madison Square Garden.

And still UNDEFEATED 💎 @EdgarBerlangaJr x #BerlangaRolls pic.twitter.com/dM4NRwQaIv

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) March 20, 2022

The veteran Rolls, who’s most known recently for having been knocked out by middleweight champ Gennady Golovkin, was tough enough to take Berlanga’s biggest shots for 30 minutes. The Puerto Rican born New Yorker Berlanga, now 19-0, 16 KOs,repeatedly scored with this right in this bout. That’s the same right hand that began his career with 16 consecutive first-round knockouts.

But, Berlanga has now has not scored a KO of any kind  in any of his last three bouts. That includes him also having to go the distance last October against Marcelo Esteban Coceres in a fight where he injured his biceps and that required surgery.

Berlanga headlined the prospect show for Top Rank and ESPN Saturday night and only out landed the veteran Rolls, now 21-2, by a narrow 63-60 power punch total.

While Berlanga is easily marketable, he probably still at least has to fight another fight or two away for having any chance at a world title shot. Obviously, future Hall of Famer Canelo Alvarez owns all four world championships at Super Middleweight.

In the co-feature fight on the undercard Xander Zayas score an impressive eight-round decision to improve his record to 13-0, 9 KOs. Zayas pummeled Quincy LaVallais for much of their bout, as it was a fight that honestly could have been stopped after six or seven rounds.

Still, it went the distance with Zayas having out-landed 216-62 in power shots in just eight rounds.