Berlanga Debuts With Zuffa Against Butler After Sheeraz KO
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- Edgar Berlanga (23-2, 18 KOs) headlines the Zuffa 09 card against Steven Butler (38-5-1, 32 KOs) in a 10-round super middleweight bout Sunday at Madison Square Garden Theater (8 p.m. ET, Paramount+), marking his first fight since a fifth-round KO loss to WBO titleholder Hamzah Sheeraz.
- Berlanga signed with Zuffa Boxing in April; the TKO-owned promotion is run by UFC CEO Dana White and WWE president Nick Khan with Saudi financial backing, and has also recently inked Shakur Stevenson, Jai Opetaia, Conor Benn and Richardson Hitchins.
- Richardson Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs), a former IBF 140-pound titleholder, makes his welterweight debut in the co-main event against Mexico's Ricardo Salas (24-2-2, 18 KOs).
- Berlanga told CBS Sports the Sheeraz loss was a necessary turning point: 'I needed that to be where I'm at now mentally,' adding that he now realizes he was giving only 50% in the gym and wants to showcase his full skill set rather than just his power.
- Berlanga began his career with nine consecutive first-round knockouts and extended the streak to 16 before his next four fights all went the distance; he parted ways with Top Rank in early 2023, signed with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Sport, and went the distance in a 2024 pay-per-view loss to Canelo Alvarez.
- Berlanga envisions eventual fights at 168 pounds against Jaime Munguia and Chris Eubank Jr., plus a rematch with Sheeraz, but says he must first handle Butler: 'I have the experience and everything it takes to go out and get the victory.'
- Butler has five losses but carries 32 KOs in his record, and Berlanga acknowledged the danger: 'He has five losses but he's a big puncher like me. I just have to be alert, great defense and great jab.'
Why it matters: Zuffa's signing of Berlanga — a polarizing PPV-tested attraction coming off a stoppage loss — signals the promotion's strategy of building its roster with marketable names rather than strictly top contenders. Berlanga's claim of a mental reset and rededicated training camp carries real stakes: he goes from a potential headliner against Munguia, Eubank Jr. or Sheeraz back to a must-win 10-rounder against a 38-5-1 gatekeeper, where another loss would crater his market value before Zuffa's bigger plans materialize.
