Edgar Berlanga’s ring return is booked for March 2025 in Puerto Rico. 39-year-old journeyman Gabriel Rosado (26-17-1, 15 KOs) is mentioned as a strong possibility for Berlanga to help him win again.
Berlanga can’t afford to trip in front of his Puerto Rican fans, who booed him after his loss to Canelo Alvarez on September 14. They will accept a loss against Canelo, but probably not against Rosado. That would be going too far.
Edgar Berlanga worships in defeat
The Brooklyn, New York native, Berlanga, who identifies with his parent’s original homeland, drove around in the back of a truck in Puerto Rico after his loss, followed by a long line of fans who treated him like a superstar in defeat. It was probably strange, but it showed how the fans are looking for a replacement for Miguel Cotto.
Why would they follow in Berlanga after a lopsided loss? I still don’t get it. He fought poorly against Canelo and did nothing with his career before being blessed with that title shot.
Rosado is not that far from Berlanga in terms of talent. If Rosado had fought the 22 tomato cans that Berlanga fought to get his wins, he would have beaten them all and would have the same record.
The Philadelphia-born Rosado turns 39 on Jan. 13 and hasn’t won a fight in three years since his upset third-round knockout victory over Bektemir Melikuziev on June 19, 2021. Rosado has lost his last four fights since then. That probably won’t stop Berlanga from fighting him, as he fits in perfectly with the fighters he’s beaten in the past to build his record.
Top Rank and Matchroom did a great job of sending Berlanga to a 22-0 record before Canelo Alvarez exposed him. It’s a shame that Berlanga didn’t have to fight at least one good opponent David Benavidez or David Morrell to get his title against Canelo.
Berlanga (22-, 17 KOs) lost a 12-round unanimous decision to WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on Sept. 14 in Las Vegas. Canelo won by scores of 118-109, 117-110 and 118-109.
Berlanga received a purse in between $1-3 million for the fight, with another 20% of the PPV money. So, he will be a millionaire in his next fight in March, and there won’t be too much pressure on him if he beats Rosado.
It was a one-sided fight for the most part, but Berlanga used his 193-lb massive frame to walk down the smaller Canelo to land some nice shots in a losing effort.
Fans criticized Berlanga for fighting to survive and being afraid to let his hands go for fear of being knocked out. It was a cowardly way of fighting, but it made sense.
By going the distance, Berlanga can boast that he’s going 12 rounds after that, and he still has options for good paydays against Jaime Munguia, William Scull and Diego Pacheco. Berlanga wouldn’t have had those options if Canelo knocked him out.
“I am told they are thinking of Edgar Berlanga Jr’s return in March 2025 in Puerto Rico. Nothing has been decided yet on the opponent for the Super Middleweight contender,” said Salvador Rodriguez. X.
Edgar’s Road to Canelo Rematch
Berlanga has already mapped out a path to a rematch with Canelo, saying he wants to defeat Jaime Munguia or capture the IBF title, then use either of those two wins to get a quick second fight.
It sounds misleading, but you can understand why Berlanga would want a second fight with the Mexican star because he wouldn’t make that kind of money fighting anyone else. Moreover, Berlanga’s career will be over quickly once he faces talented contenders such as Diego Pacheco, Osleys Iglesias and Christian Mbilli. He never beats any of those guys.
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