Edgar Berlanga vs. Marcelo Esteban Coceres added to Fury vs. Wilder 3 card on Oct.9th

By Boxing News - 08/26/2021 - Comments

By Jeff Aronow: Super middleweight contender Edgar Berlanga will facing Marcelo Esteban Coceres on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder 3 on October 9th on ESPN/ESPN+ at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Mike Coppinger reporting the news of the unbeaten #6 WBA, #7 WBO Berlanga (17-0, 16 KOs0 fighting the 30-year-old Coceres next. Berlanga, 24, has also signed a two-fight deal with Top Rank.

Boxing fans will be pleased that Berlanga is now part of the Fury vs. Wilder III card on October 9th, but they probably won’t be too excited at the opponent for the New Yorker.

Fans want Berlanga to fight better opposition

One of the complaints boxing fans have had about Berlanga is the opposition he’s been fed by Top Rank. For example, Berlanga knocked out his first 16 opponents in the first round. Berlanga didn’t score all those quick knockouts because he’s such a great puncher.

The reason for those fast knockouts is because Berlanga has been fed dreadfully poor opposition, and there hadn’t been any adjustments by his promoters until the last fight against Demond Nicholson last April.

Berlanga didn’t look that impressive against Nicholson, who was putting hands on him and taking advantage of his slow hand speed and wide-open defense.

Additionally, Berlanga has been added to Vasily Lomachenko’s December 11th card on ESPN in the co-feature spot against an opponent still to be determined. Hopefully, Top Rank moves Berlanga up against a first-tier contender for the Lomachenko fight because he can’t make a career out of fighting C-level opposition.

Good options for Berlanga:

  • Carlos Gongora
  • Vladimir Shishkin
  • Gabe Rosado
  • Anthony Dirrell

Esteban (30-2-1, 16 KOs) is better known as the fighter that gave Billy Joe Saunders fits for the first 10 rounds of their fight in November 2019 before getting stopped in the 11th round.

Saunders was trailing in the fight and looked to be on his way to losing when he scored the knockout with a sudden barrage of punches.

Image: Edgar Berlanga vs. Marcelo Esteban Coceres added to Fury vs. Wilder 3 card on Oct.9th

Before the 11th, the Argentinian Coceres had been getting the better of Saunders using his superior hand speed and punching power.

The negative for Berlanga in fighting Coceres is that he’s fighting a guy that has lost two out of his last four fights. Moreover, Coceres was recently beaten by little-known second-tier fighter Sebastian Horacio Papeschi by a 10 round split decision last January.

Looking at it logically, Top Rank might as well be matching Berlanga against Papeschi rather than the guy he beat in Coceres.

“Edgar Berlanga Jr. tells ESPN he and his team have agreed to a two-fight deal with Top Rank. He’ll fight Marcelo Esteban Coceres on Oct. 9 on ESPN/ESPN+ before the Fury-Wilder 3 PPV. Then he’ll fight Dec. 11 in the co-feature to Vasiliy Lomachenko’s return,” said @MikeCoppinger.

“To be clear, Berlanga has a multiyear deal with Top Rank. This is a two-fight plan with financial terms agreed to for those two fights.

“Berlanga scored first-round KOs in his first 16 fights. Coceres is best known for a fight with Billy Joe Saunders in 2019.”