Fans on social media are trashing super middleweight contender Edgar Berlanga’s choice of opponent for his next headliner on DAZN against little-known Padraig McCrory in a twelve round scheduled fight on February 24th at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida.
#3 WBA is probably the safest top-five opponent for Berlanga to be matched against to put him in a position to fight for a world title. Anyone better than this, Berlanga, could be in trouble.
The New Yorker Berlanga looks like a bust after looking promising in his first 16 fights. Berlanga resembles a ticking time bomb, with his career likely to blow apart soon before he gets the big money fight for his promoters at Matchroom.
Can Berlanga get Canelo fight?
Not much is known about McCrory, as he’s gone under the radar during his six-year professional career, fighting obscure opposition in the UK and surprisingly given a high ranking.
Berlanga is being matched against McCrory, a stepping-stone opponent, hoping he’ll win, look good, and be a viable option to challenge undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez for his four titles.
FEBRUARY 24TH / FEBRERO 24TH !!!!!! ORLANDO, FLORIDA
Estamos activo PUÑETA 🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷 pic.twitter.com/jbQUg3M9bo— Edgar Berlanga Jr (@EdgarBerlangaJr) December 17, 2023
People see this poor match-up as a further sign that Berlanga is a “hype job” and he will never amount to anything.
This is the second fight for the unbeaten #4 WBO, #6 IBF, and #11 WBC Berlanga (21-0, 16 KOs) since signing with Matchroom Boxing this year.
It’s believed that the former Top Rank fighter Berlanga was given a lucrative contract by Eddie Hearn to ink with his Matchroom company, and he had high hopes after signing him, talking about wanting to make a fight with Canelo Alvarez.
Hearn looked so happy after signing Berlanga, talking about how he was going to do big things. Instead, he’s gone quiet after Berlanga’s performance against Quigley, and one could tell from the gloomy look on his gob that he could be having second thoughts about his decision to sign him.
That hasn’t happened, and Berlanga looked poor in his first fight with Hearn’s company, laboring to a twelve round unanimous decision against Jason Quigley last June.
Does Hearn regret signing Berlanga?
That was Berlanga’s fifth consecutive decision. He hasn’t knocked out an opponent since 2020 after starting his professional career with 16 consecutive first round knockouts.
You have to wonder whether Hearn regrets signing Berlanga after watching him struggle against Quigley, as this is someone that any top-rung super middleweight would have destroyed in one or two rounds.
This was a competitive fight from start to finish, with Berlanga showing no improvement from his recent fights while being promoted by Top Rank.
Quigley had been destroyed in two rounds by Demetrius Andrade in 2021, so it put things in perspective on how much improvement Berlanga needs to make for him to be one of the top talents at 168.
It appears that Hearn made a mistake in signing Berlanga to his company, just like he signed Regis Prograis.
It’s unclear if Hearn can release Berlanga early if he fails to impress against McCrory because there would be no point in keeping Berlanga with Matchroom as dead weight if he loses against this level of opponent.
