Super middleweight Edgar ‘The Chosen One’ Berlanga 17-0 (16) was extended past the opening round for the first time in his pro career when he was taken the eight-round distance by Demond ‘D’Bestatit’ Nicholson 23-4-1 (20) at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, Florida on Saturday night.
The power-punching 23-year-old from Brooklyn of Puerto Rican heritage was widely expected to get the Nicholson out of there within a round or two, but the rugged fringe contender from Laurel, Maryland used his veteran savvy to last the distance.
“It’s kind of fucked up that I had to go those rounds with all these people here,” Berlanga told ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna after the win. “They wanted me to score another first-round knockout but I enjoyed getting that experience.”
Nicholson was down four times during the contest, proving if nothing else that Berlanga’s power is as for real. He was rocked by a big right hand midway through the second frame but recovered well before a left hook to the temple put him down during the final minute of the round. Berlanga jumped all over Nicholson on the ropes but the veteran drew on all of his experience to tie the favourite up and survive the round.
Nicholson was down again in the third round after getting tangled up with Berlanga and finding himself on the deck. Video replays show it probably shouldn’t have been scored a knockdown.
There was great two-way action in the fourth round before a left hook from Berlanga stunned Nicholson just before the bell.
Berlanga clipped Nicholson with another left hook high on the head in the fifth that sent him to the canvas again. Nicholson was hurt again late in the sixth and clinched his way to the bell.
With 10 seconds left to go in the bout Nicholson was dropped again, this time with a counter right cross. It was a game effort from Nicholson and a great learning experience for Berlanga, who finally found an opponent sturdy enough to take him some rounds.
The scores for the fight were 79-68 and 79-69 twice.
CompuBox had Berlanga outlanding Nicholson 110 blows to 82 with an advantage of 91 power punches to 57. His overall connect rate was 36% compared to 21%.
Despite his dominance, Berlanga’s trainer Andre Rozier made him perform push-ups in the ring as penance after the fight for not following his instructions.
“I thought it was a C,” Berlanga said. “I could have done a lot better. There were a lot of things I could’ve did (better). [Head trainer Andre Rozier] was telling me to throw the jab and follow body shots. I didn’t follow instructions and had to do the push-ups.”
The fight was the main support bout to the fight between WBO featherweight champion Emanuel ‘Vaquero’ Navarrete 33-1 (28) and Christopher Diaz 26-3 (16).
