Unbeaten super middleweight Edgar “The Chosen One” Berlanga (19-0, 16 KOs) scored a workmanlike ten round unanimous decision over Steve Rolls (21-2, 12 KOs) on Saturday night inside Madison Square Garden’s Theater in New York City. Berlanga, who started his career with 16 straight first round knockouts, went the distance for the third consecutive time, winning 96-94, 97-93, 97-93.
Unbeaten junior middleweight Xander Zayas (13-0, 9 KOs) took a one-sided eight-round shutout against defensive-minded spoiler Quincy LaVallais (12-3-1, 7 KOs). The whole fight was pretty much one-way traffic from Zayas. Scores were 80-71, 80-72, 80-72.
Unbeaten junior welterweight John “El Terrible” Bauza (17-0, 7 KOs) was roughed up and somewhat exposed by veteran Tony “Lightning” Luis (29-5, 10 KOs), but did enough to win 80-72, 79-73, 78-74 over eight rounds.
Unbeaten welterweight Jahi Tucker (7-0, 4 KOs) outpointed Tracey McGruder (6-2 4 KOs) over six rounds by scores of 60-52, 59-55, 59-55.
Unbeaten junior lightweight Henry Lebron (15-0, 10 KOs) stopped Jose Ruiz (23-6-3, 16 KOs) in round seven. Referee’s stoppage at 2:23. One-sided fight.
Unbeaten junior lightweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (3-0, 2 KOs) scored a spectacular fifth round KO over the very game Yeuri Andujar (5-5-1, 3 KOs). Carrington knocked Andujar out cold with a left hook at :51.
Unbeaten junior welterweight Armani Almestica (5-0, 5 KOs) dominated and stopped Luis Valentin Portalatin (3-4, 1 KO) in round three. Referee stoppage at 1:57.
Unbeaten junior welterweight Kelvin Davis (3-0, 2 KOs) needed just 77 seconds to blow away Phillip Carmouche (2-3, 0 KOs). Carmouche down twice.
Note: The Edgar Berlanga-Steve Rolls event at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden is sold out. Official attendance is 5,158.
I know I’m partial because I really like Tony Luis but, okay fine, he lost. But if you think Bauza won every round of that fight after, something is wrong. Luis CLEARLY won 4, 5 and 8 and Bauza probably should have lost a point with as much grabbing as he did, but like I said, I’m biased.
I had Tony up 5-3. Worst case a draw. Horrible decision.
Thank you Michael. I’m trying not to go overboard because I know I’m a fan, but a shutout or even 7-1 in that fight may be some of the worst judging I’ve seen in a while.
Lucie, no way he lost every round, but he definitely lost imo. If it was a ten rounder, then he might have been a draw in my book. He definitely had the momentum, but I don’t believe he would have been able to KO Bauza and probably wouldn’t have knocked him down.
Zayas looks good with solid balance and solid offensive skills.
At some point, I will need to see him face more opponents with at least stinging-solid punches, to see how he reacts to catching it on his chin. I also want to see how Zayas’ defense holds against more opponents with good offensive strategies/skills. Time will tell during Zayas’ next 7-10 fights.
Keep learning and keep moving forward, Zayas.
I know I am from Toronto but I feel Rolls just got robbed. The announcers saw what they wanted to see. I do not see what Berlanga did to win that fight!
Pete sometimes you watch fights and you wonder what everyone else is seeing, because you’re seeing something totally different. That happened to me twice on this card – just strange. I’m taking my ass to bed.
Have a good night Lucie! I watched the DAZN card mostly and had the ESPN card on silently until the DAZN card ended. I did not pay as close attention to the Luis fight so I cannot offer a fair opinion. But I just do not see how the announcers did not even act like Berlanga was in any danger of losing that fight. I know he likely was not going to lose a decision in New York but when I saw Andre Ward has Berlanga winning the first 5 rounds I was surprised! I am starting to notice a pattern with this announcing team. Oscar Valdez’s last win also seemed like they were watching a different fight then me.
I thought Rolls won too. Felt like Berlanga was just following him around and not landing much. Maybe Rolls body language hurt him on the scorecards. That nervous/twitchy movement may have given the appearance that Edgar was controlling the early rounds♂️
Shaheed I think you have a solid point. The body language may have hurt Rolls. The judges and perhaps even a lot of spectators may have gotten caught up in the body language in combination of what was supposed to happen and thus were not realizing that Rolls was landing more effective shots then Berlanga.
Sick of boxing hyping these young too quickly and not giving them the time or experience to develop. They become superstars with their goofy ass chains, cars and entourages TOO EARLY; and the end result is they end up looking lost when difficulty comes their way. Berlanga lost an ugly fight b/c he was inactive, didn’t have a second game plan and was only looking for one shot. Why? B/c y’all made him a superstar before he’d even faced adversity.
Berlanga is not going anywhere, an extremely limited boxer.
Berlanga’s not just limited but seems to be regressing. Is not fighting with confidence. Not throwing with bad intentions. Footwork is below average.
Maybe he overtrained or maybe he’s just not that good. He’s got 19 fights now. He should be making his move. Instead he’s still figuring it out. He may never figure it out, seems a little confused.
This was pedestrian.
“Maybe he’s just not that good”. That’s what I’m thinking. Doesn’t mean he never will be, but at the moment, Berlanga is “just not that good”.
Berlanga lacks humbleness and lack of self awareness. He blamed his opponent for “running” Instead of admitting that he didn’t know how to cut off the ring and instead of admitting that his opponent brought a good game plan that made it a difficult fight for him.
As a Puerto Rican I cannot support this guy. He just doesn’t have what it takes. His skill set is very limited and will get starched soon.
Ooops, Berlanga was supposed to win by TKO or KO.
It appears Berlanga is a weight bully because I am DEEPLY curious about Berlanga’s weight on fight night; and I am seriously questioning his overall progression. In addition, too many dang voices in Berlanga’s corner…one (1) voice, one (1) sound.
I was not impressed with Berlanga, tonight.
Zayas looks like the future star of the show. He seems to have exceptional skills and class outside the ring as well.
Berlanga is a disrespectful fool
Whose career is over ..he surrounded himself with a bunch of puerto ricans..does not pay attention to rozier and turn head for other guy every time they both talk..I know dibella is not his promoter but he came to shake his hand and berlanga didn’t even look
At him..joke attitude ..I’d leave him
Now before he gets relieved ..rozier knows he getting fired
You are a tool and a racist
Agree, this guy is a racist. no need to mention he surrounded himself with a bunch of Puerto Ricans? So what? Can’t surround yourself with people you trust? If they are black is bad to surround yourself with blacks? Berlanga needs work and it shows, no laterals no speed and extremely predictable but no need to make this about the west side story you tool
I agree that Rolls fought scared, he may even have won if he hadnt. Berlanga needs to bury Tha Monsta and reinvent himself as a contender trying to.polish his craft to earn a title shot. It could still happen. You could tell he was dissapointed in his performance. Its a harsh pill for him to swallow that hes not the relentless destroyer he was hyped up to be. Its far from over for him, but he just has to wait in line with everybody else. He could party with Fat Joe and Snoop after he wins his title
No way on earth Berlanga even comes close to beating someone like Benavidez! In fact, Benavidez would blast him out of there in 3! Andrade beats him as well. He is not a well rounded fighter. Zayas looks way more promising!! Hope he continues to develop!!
I kind of agree, zayas has tremendous potential at 19 years old. However, Berlanga is still young at 24.He seems to have tremendous power.These young guys get matched up with crafty veterans , who how to survive in the ring!. They really can’t win, but cause confusion and sometimes frustration, for these very talented young fighters.
Great night of fighting, Boxing has made a big come back!. Alot of young Talent. I am a big UFC fan .However, starting to enjoy Boxing again as well !.
Zayas was impressive tonight, his boxing skills were on display, great head movement and defensive skills, great body shots, maybe work a little more inside and combinations. Some of his hooks were reminiscent of Felix Trinidad, a little more work on power and this young man is going to make a great champion and the fact that he’s bilingual is great, representing Puerto Rico and recognizing his fans in New York of Puerto Rican descent.
OK, let’s hit the brakes for just a minute here….The announcers and everyone else who have hyped Berlanga up to be a monster get to change their mind suddenly and say he needs a lot of work, but nobody gets to call THEM out for actually doing the hyping that PUT HIM in the unenviable situation? Yes, what Berlanga does from here on will determine the trajectory of his career, no doubt. And yes, he needs one voice in the corner, and yes, he needs to own his performance. But this guy is A KID, still, at 24 years old. Kriegel is calling out the fact that the issues started AFTER he added a manager, and added another trainer…IN ORDER TO MAKE MONEY OFF OF HIM BY PROMOTING IN ON *YOUR* NETWORK!!! Azz….
To the ESPN announcers, minus Andre Ward, who kind of got it, but still wants a paycheck: Don’t act like you have the gravitas to knock down the center of this hype machine YOUR NETWORK CREATED because he wasn’t performing well enough for YOU to sell. To the people hating on Berlanga on this forum: Don’t act so high and mighty because YOU BOUGHT INTO THE HYPE, and are angry because you have a bloodlust, and DON’T REALLY CARE about the SPORT of boxing or those who are trying to elevate their lives and those of their families by participating in it.
I hope he DOES get things together, and I hope he DOES make a shxt-ton of money, and I hope he can rise up and get out before the sport and the ignorant, illiterate people like some of those on this forum finish attacking his humanity and pride.
I agree with everyone about Xander Zayas. He completely passes the eye test. Love the jab, combinations and footwork! And he hits hard right now, what happens when he finds his man strength? I think Zayas is the next great Middleweight and his time might be as soon as September next year.
As for Edgar Berlanga: he reminds me of Jaime Munguia. He’s been pushed to main event way before he was ready and he totally looks like he believed the hype. However, like Munguia he is still young and if he and his team are truly honest with themselves they’ll go back to the drawing board. Find a jab, find some bounce and learn to cut the ring. Unlike a few on here, I didn’t think Rolls won. My score matched the 96 to 94 judge, but 97 – 93 isn’t out if reach. Just avoiding contact will never won a round in my book, so quite a few rounds were close because of this. Btw, neither man celebrated after the final bell. They both knew it was tight.