Unbeaten super middleweight Edgar Berlanga (17-0, 16 KOs) failed to score his 17th consecutive first round knockout and, in fact, didn’t get a knockout at all against Demond Nicholson (23-4-1, 20 KOs) on Saturday night at a sold-out Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, Florida. Berlanga knocked down Nicholson in rounds two, three, five, and eight, but had to settle for an eight round unanimous decision. Scores were 79-68, 79-69, 79-69.
Berlanga said, “I feel amazing. It’s kind of fu—- up I had to go to the judges with all the people here. I know they wanted a first-round knockout, but I enjoyed getting the experience.
“It was an awesome experience for me. I caught him with an amazing shot at 10 seconds of the last round. I wanted to get him out! But I didn’t, but I got the experience, especially in front of my Puerto Rican people. It was good.
“I give myself a ‘C’ tonight. I wanted the knockout, of course, but I’m happy to have performed in front of my Puerto Rican people, who were cheering me on all night.”
“What’s next? Keep working in the gym, improving my craft, and get ready for whatever is next.”
Berlinga was easily exposed and should be very beatable but he’s still learning.
I agree, your statement is accurate.
Berlanga wasn’t ” exposed” he is a young inexperienced fighter who has a lot to learn. He was able to take some good punches and stretch his abilities to win which is invaluable to a fighter. It’s about learning , growing and putting that knowledge into.practice which doesn’t happen with first round KOs. He has a lot to learn before getting in there with the top fighters this was a step in the right direction.
Ending his KO streak is the best thing for him. He was enjoying his celebrity status way too much and was too inactive. Considering all his fights were 1st round KO’s, he could have been figting a lot more often and getting more experience. He’s 5 years into his career and has never had a fight scheduled for more than 8 rounds! Nicholson was the first guy he fought who can claim contender status and he was on nobodies top 10! This fight should bring him back down to earth and foucus on becoming a champion, not a celebrity.
People are so quick to forget that Cánelo got knocked down several times early in his career. Berlanga won, almost got the Ko, yes he needs work on Stamina
Canelo Alvarez knocked down several times early in his careers??? Against who???
Older brother of Miguel Cotto almost knocks him out in the first round
Arnaldo and Carlos, he was rocked but never down. Big difference.
Against Miguel cotto’s Brother.
Yea Idk about those either then again he’s been in the gm since he was 15 and I doubt any of those fights are out there. Now Cotto’s brother stunned him once but he couldn’t put him away.
When did Canelo get knocked down ?
Hooraaayyy…I finally had a better look at Berlanga.
I like Berlanga’s authoritative jab, but I want to see him use that jab more often. Berlanga’s inside fighting needs more development to set up his body punching. It also appears Berlanga’s left hooks have natural heat on it.
Berlanga took a few good shots on the chin, so thus far, I like how his chin looks. However, I want to further evaluate his conditioning in future fights and let’s hope Berlanga’s next opponent can provide solid rounds to him.
It was a good learning experience for Berlanga because it will teach him how to set up his punches better, rather than think every opponent will fall after a few punches in the early rounds.
Berlanga relies a lot on his power. He needs more stamina and conditioning.
Pinga: i agree. He reminds me of Mungia.. mistly utilizing power and thats ok if ur dealing with smaller fighters or half descent opponents. Hes gonna really have to sharpen those skills to fight the big dogs cuz they will be able to take his shots AND give em back. He got hit clean several times last night and he cant afford that with another power puncher
A dominant performance, but Berlanga showed he’s not the super-human destroyer he was portrayed to be. He was clearly bigger, stronger, and faster than Nicholson. It looked more like a Lightheavy or Cruiserweight against a Middleweight. He got hit solidly on occasion throughout the fight and looked a little fatigued starting around the 6th round, especially in the 7th, and came alive a bit in the 8th, but I think it was more of an adrenaline surge than conditioning. I think this fight is exactly what he needed: he got the rounds in, showed he can command a fight, take a punch, and carry his power into later rounds. He can now step in line and focus on being a contender rather than a 1st round KO phenom.
Berlanga proved one thing tonight: He’s ONLY a big puncher! He was hanging on in the 7 round, and scored a lucky shot at the end of the 8th because of his opponents lousy defense.
This was a good challenge for Berlanga. For the first time, he was matched against an opponent he couldn’t blow out within three minutes, could only manage to knock down, and someone with enough skills and good conditioning to not only last the distance, but test Berlanga’s chin. Nicholson lost, but he should be commended.
I wanna see Berlanga against Guatemalan monster Lester Martinez. He’s 9-0 9KO’s. He’s more of a complete fighter and it would be a war. My money is on Martinez. YouTube him if you haven’t seen him. Kid got skills
Sure It will be a great fight in a couple of years, although Lester Martinez showed his confidence fighting in his pro debut against former world champion Ricardo Mayorga !!!
David Morrell all day over Berlanga. Berlanga will make for some intriguing fights in a career that will be cut short due to his banger first mentality. That chin will soon be dented ala Earnie Shavers. I lean more towards fighters that have the complete package and I just don’t see that in Berlanga.
That would be a spectacular fight. Complete contrast in styles, I would have to give the nod to Morrell because he’s a much craftier fighter, is very hard to hit, and uses a lot of angles. He’s not going to stand in front of Berlanga to tee off on. That fight probably won’t happen anytime soon and almost definitely not a Super Middleweight, as both fighters look like they are outgrowing the division.
This was the first time any of us have seen Berlanga get some rounds in a fight. Nicholson is a dangerous fighter, but he seemed the much smaller man. He hit Berlanga with some solid shots on the chin but didn’t slow him down.
The good: Berlanga has natural power and doesn’t have to hit hard to hurt his opponent. He is also quick to counter and sees and takes advantages of openings. He also doesn’t swing wildly and keeps many of his punches short. He doesn’t totally rely on his power, which is a good thing.
The bad: He ran out of steam in the second half of the fight, taking the 7th round off before coming back strong in the 8th. He really needs to work on his stamina. He is also very hittable and will have to work on his defense. At this point, his offense is his defense, but better opponents can reach and hurt him if he doesn’t focus on getting better defensively.
He is still a work in progress at this point and is not ready for the top fighters in the division. The super middleweight division is a really hot one and there are some terrific fighters in the division much more experienced than Berlanga. He shouldn’t be rushed into a match with any of them. A fight against Jesse Hart would be a good next step for him. Hart can look great, but he can also be hit and hurt. I’d bet on Berlanga if they do meet.
The kid has power of course, but the last monsters i have seen over the years was a young Mugabi who had a vicious ko streak before meeting hagler against good competition, a young Tyson ,hearns before leonard!! Foreman when I was a tadpole.
A lot of potential in this boy reminds me a little of Canelo when he started but with more punch and a little more condition and good jaw. Another thing this boy is fighting better quality of boxers than other boxers when they started, Canelo began to fight good competition after his first 16 or 17 fights and this boy since his 12 fight is fighting with good competition of his level, not crap with bad records of 10 or more lost fights. I think what this boy needs are good trainers in his corner to teach him to boxer more, develop his punch more, improve his physical condition and he could be very good.
EXPOSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lmao, and this dude is calling out the champs? Cmon man, he was so gassed, not ready for the big dogs, Benavidez would kill this fella.
Exposed???…Because he didn’t get the 1st round KO? Not really. I guess he exposed himself as being human, but he still turned in a dominant performance against an experienced veteran fighter who was a KO artist in his own right. This reminds me of when Mike Tyson was coming up and finally went the distance and looked less than dominant against Quick Tillis. People right then and there wrote him off as an overhyped fraud. Time will tell how Berlanga responds in his next few outings.
Who said he’s ready for benavidez. Let the kid grow and learn. He’ll get there.
Exactly what Berlanga needed. The obsession with the KO streak was hurting his development.
@Colson Thank You!
A win is a win.
i think we should give him a chance here, how do you learn when all your fights end so fast and he has no experience in time management in his bouts, he took a few good shots, went the distance albeit only 8 rds, but still landed a good right hand at the very end even though he was out of position
Real power, but still has lots to learn. Not ready for Canelo, Benivedez, or the Charlo brothers
Canelo in 2!
Berlanga is overhyped and overe rated.
Bruh!…It’s too early to Hate.
I agree with Kris. Some betters may not be happy on the Round Over under but those rounds are the experience berlanga needs, and as long as he wins most of them he’s fine. As long as nobody is rushing him into fighting contenders right now, he can keep learning against other top 25-top 35 guys and I’m sure he will learn more, build stamina etc. You are not exposed as a fighter just because you don’t set new 1st rd ko records. I can see him becoming a contender and I’m sure he will be matched appropriately.
As joe goossen said, it’s better he faces this kind of fighter at this level and not at the top. I’m paraphrasing of course. Good learning experience for him.