Edgar Berlanga has a chilling message for his super-middleweight rivals – he’s back to his wicked, spiteful best ahead of the key showdown vs Padraig McCrory next weekend.
The exciting 26-year-old American has fought just one in the last 20 months – a decision victory over Jason Quigley in New York last June.
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Injuries have slowed Berlanga’s rise towards the top of the tree at 168lbs, while he also had a training change to contend with. The win over Quigley was his first back with Marc Farrait after a four-year hiatus.
Now though Berlanga (21-0 with 16 KOs) believes he is back and firing on all cylinders as he prepares to lock horns with fellow unbeaten contender McCrory (18-0) next Saturday night in Orlando (live on DAZN).
Berlanga on why he’s back
“The 12th round of my last fight, I feel like that’s really woken me up,” said Berlanga.
“I haven’t missed anything, I know I have got the power to hurt anybody, and I feel different as a fighter, mentally, physically and spiritually. I know that there’s going to be fireworks coming from me on February 24, that’s a fact. I’m coming for the KO. He can say whatever he wants, but at the end of the day we have to go in there and tussle.
“Me at my best, nobody is f**king with me. When I am 100 per cent, which you’ll see on February 24, I am unstoppable.
“I’ve sacrificed a lot, changing my environment, coming to the suburbs and being fully locked in on myself and my craft. I’ve refocused on the small details of my style to bring the best out of me. So, from all that right there, it’s going to be something amazing.”
Berlanga says the time out of the ring gave him a new perspective on life and boxing, and particularly the people around him.
The circle of trust
“There is jealousy. I’m here in Tampa now and there’s a lot of people out there that were acting like they were my friends, and they weren’t. People that were close to me that were envying me, so I got rid of all those people and I’m just focused on myself and my team, and I feel that with God with me, the sky is the limit and there’s nothing stopping me.”
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Berlanga has no doubt about his ability to hang with the greats at super-middleweight, and he is already talking about superfights in the very near future.
Canelo vs Berlanga?
“I’ll be one of the best 168lb fighters in the world. I think that after this fight my name is going to be buzzing again, and people will be talking about me and Canelo in September or Jaime Munguia. I feel those fights are there to be made and it’s time to go capture a belt.
“I’m not the guy that fought Jason, and he’s going to see that. I’m getting better and better. I was four years away from Marc before that fight and I went through a lot of injuries in that camp.
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“I’m on a different level now physically. I’m sparring 15, 16 rounds with three or four different guys, and I didn’t get a chance to do that in my last camp with the injuries and coming back to camp overweight with the lay-off and not having a promoter, going through some depression in New York. We brought in ‘Memo’ who every knows has worked with the best, and we know we can go 12 strong rounds and go at it hard, and I know that if I do that, no one can stand a chance with me.”
