By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten super middleweight prospect Edgar Berlanga of Brooklyn, New York takes on veteran Roamer Alexis Angulo of Colombia this Saturday, June 11th. The 10-round battle is for Berlanga’s WBO NABO Super Middleweight Title and takes place at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City. It can be seen live in America on ESPN and ESPN+ and on TSN 5 in Canada. Berlanga last fought in March when he beat Steve Rolls by a 10-round unanimous decision while Angulo stopped Carlos Galvan after five rounds in his last outing last June.
The 25-year-old Berlanga carries around a perfect record of 19-0 with 16 Ko’s and has boxed 44 rounds since his pro debut. He started his pro career in 2016 by flying out of the gate with 16 consecutive first-round knockouts. However, he’s been taken the distance now in his last three fights. Still, he owns a highly-impressive knockout ratio of 84.2 per cent. Berlanga, who’s nicknamed ‘The Chosen One,’ stands 6-feet-1-inch tall with a 73-inch reach.
Berlanga enjoyed a fine amateur career with a reported record of 162-17. He placed second at the 2013 National Police Athletic League Championships (Junior Level), second at the 2013 U.S. National Junior (Under-17) Championships, third at the 2014 U.S. National Youth (Under-19) Championships and second at the 2015 U.S. National Youth (Under-19) Championships.
It’s no secret that Berlanga has depended on his power to get this far with some of his wins coming over the likes of Rolls, Marcelo Caceres, Jaime Barboza, Aaron Garcia, Samir dos Santos Barbosa, Cesar Nunez, Eric Moon, Lanell Bellows, Ulises Sierra and Demond Nicholson. Nicholson, Caceres and Rolls are the only men to go the distance with Berlanga and also get past the first round. His 10-round unanimous decision victory over Caceres last October saw him capture the vacant WBO NABO Belt.
As for Angulo, he’s also a hard-hitting boxer as he enters the ring with a mark of 27-2 with 23 Kos. The 38-year-old stands 6-feet-1-inch tall with a 75-inch reach, which gives him a two-inch reach advantage over Berlanga. Angulo made his pro debut back in 2010 after a brief amateur career and has fought just 103 rounds since then, mainly due to his power. He obviously packs quite a punch with a current knockout ratio of 79.3 per cent. Since turning pro Angulo has won the WBO Latino and IBF Latino Super Middleweight Titles.
If there’s a knock against Angulo it’s basically for the level of opponents he’s faced over the years. The average boxing fan would be hard pressed to recognize most of his opponents and when he did step up in class he fell short of the mark. He took on Gilberto Ramirez for the WBO Super Middleweight Title in 2018 and lost a wide unanimous decision and was stopped by David Benavidez in the 10th round in August, 2020 in a shot at the vacant WBC Super Middleweight Belt. The title was on the line for Angulo that night as Benavidez came on over weight.
Prediction…
Although, he’s just 25 years old, this is a bit of a make-or-break fight for Berlanga as he’s taking a bit of a step up in class against somebody who could possibly match him when it comes to power. Angulo’s now 38 years old and if Berlanga can’t get past him then he’ll need to reassess his career. This should be an exciting bout and I’m expecting Berlanga to be tested but to still emerge with a win.
