Undefeated super middleweight knockout artist Edgar ‘The Chosen One’ Berlanga 18-0 (16) will clash with Steve Rolls 21-1 (12) at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday night.
The 24-year-old Berlanga has been extended the distance in his past two bouts but is expecting to return to his knockout ways against Canadian Rolls, 37, who has only ever lost to Gennadiy Golovkin.
“I’m feeling amazing. I want to thank Top Rank and ESPN for finally making it happen here back home. It’s a blessing, man. I’m looking forward to Saturday,” Berlanga said.
“It’s about adversity. In my last fight, I tore my biceps in the third round. I broke the guy’s orbital bone in three places. I would have stopped the fight in the 10th, but I got dropped in the ninth. So, for me, I just feel I needed that for my career. I needed that adversity.
“Every fighter goes through that in their career, especially being this young. I know I was going to come out of that adversity because having a torn biceps in the third round and fighting seven rounds like that — a lot of fighters would have quit because the pain is just ridiculous. But I took it as it came.
“We got the victory. I won the WBO NABO title and we moved to Las Vegas and now we’re here ready for Saturday.
“I don’t like to predict nothing. He’s a tough veteran. He went in there with the best. And for me, I’m just looking forward to putting on a show. I’m ready to blow the roof off this place. I’m just ready to explode. It’ll be fireworks like always.”
“I think he wants to step up and get closer to a world title shot,” Rolls said. “He wants a challenge. That’s why they chose me. I’m sure he could have taken an easier route. But credit to him for picking an opponent of my calibre.
“I’m going to bring experience into this fight. I still got big goals that I have and that I need to accomplish. That’s all that fight was [against Golovkin]. It wasn’t a fight where I was getting blown out or that wasn’t competitive. I made a mistake. He has experience. And I think that’s going to serve me well on Saturday night.
“I have goals. I want to put a world title around my waist, so we both have pressure on us. He’s not the only one with pressure. This is a fight that we both need.
“Training camp went well. I’m strong. A lot of people say this, but I’m really in the best shape in my life right now. So that’s what drives me, man. When I set out to do this, I set out to put a world title around my waist. That’s what keeps me moving forward.”
