Edar Berlanga says he will “destroy” Hamzah Sheeraz on July 12th and show him he’s “King of New York.” Sheeraz (21-0-1, 17 KOs) has been picked as the opponent for Berlanga (23-1, 18 KOs) to headline on DAZN PPV for an event at Central Park in New York City. This will be Sheeraz’s first fight at 168 after his controversial 12-round draw against WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames on February 22nd.
(Credit: Geoffrey Knott)
Turki Alalahikh has picked an easy one for Berlanga rather than making him walk through fire by facing David Morrell, David Benavidez, or Osleys Iglesias. Berlanga’s chance of leaving the ring on his feet would be slim against any of those killers.
The lanky 6’3″ Sheeraz can punch, but Berlanga’s cruiserweight size may be too much for him. Edgar rehydrated to 193 lbs for his fight against Canelo Alvarez last September. He looked even bigger for his last fight against Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz on March 15th.
“King of New York”
“It’s work time. It’s time to go out there and show him who the f**** man is. I’m the king of New York,” said Edgar Berlanga to Boxing News about his next opponent, Hamzah Sheeraz, for July 12th. “I’m a beast. Listen, he’s coming to my city. I ran up and down Central Park. Now is my time to shine and time to go out and hurt him.”
So, now Berlanga is claiming New York? What happened to him saying he’s Puerto Rican? Is he just picking different areas based on marketing purposes? He’s got to choose one or the other because he can’t claim both.
“I’m not going to lie. He’s not a fighter that I’ve been looking at. Do you know what I’m saying? It was an opportunity that came. They said, ‘Do you want to fight Sheeraz?’ I had him on the hit list, and I think he’s a perfect opponent for me to perform and go out there and look amazing on July 12th,” said Edgar.
The two fights that Berlanga wanted to earn the Canelo rematch were against Jermall Charlo and Jaime Munguia. He’s now revised his plans slightly with it being Hamzah Sheeraz and Munguia. Canelo will probably ignore Berlanga until he beats someone good. Munguia has a 2-2 record in his last four fights. How does that make him the key to getting the Canelo rematch?
“I got everything stop him. Everything. I got the power. I got the skill. I got the will. I got the power. I got everything. Do you know what I’m saying? I got what it takes to stop a man like him. You got [Jaime] Munguia,” said Berlanga when asked who he wants next after he faces Sheeraz.
Munguia may lose his fight tonight against Bruno Surace, and where will that leave Berlanga? Edgar is trying to take an easy backdoor path to a Canelo rematch. He’s fallen back to his old ways of taking on tomato cans, and hoping that Alvarez will bless him like he did before by giving him a payday.
The Gauntlet
If Berlanga wants that Canelo money, he needs to run through this mini gauntlet and he’ll get it real quick:
- David Benavidez
- David Morrell
- Osleys Iglesias
- Christian Mbilli
- Caleb Plant
If Berlanga quickly slices through those five killers, Canelo will pick him out immediately. Of course, if he’s weeded out, it just means that fans were right about him being a hype job from Brooklyn.
Munguia Next?
“I want that Canelo fight. I think I deserve round two. A lot of people have been asking for it. The Mexicans here have been screaming and saying, ‘We need that second fight.’ But right now, I’ve got to focus on him [Hamzah]. Knock him down, knock him out and destroy him.
“You got Munguia. If he wins tomorrow [against Bruno Surace], then that’s a fight that I think we can make happen, because I think Canelo is fighting in September. So, I think right now, I can end the year with another fight. Yeah, soon. I’m going to f*** him up, and make him retire,” said Berlanga when asked if fans will ever get the chance to see him fight Caleb Plant.
Last Updated on 05/03/2025
