Super middleweight contender Edgar ‘The Chosen One’ Berlanga 21-0 (16) says he will be back to his violent best when he takes on Padraig McCrory 18-0 (9) at Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida on February 24.
The 26-year-old New Yorker burst out the gates early in his pro career, logging 16 successive knockouts. But those early ending have dried up in recent times, with his last five fights going the distance.
In his last outing Berlanga score a 12-round unanimous decision over Jason Quigley 20-3 (14) in New York in June. Quigley was on the canvas four times in the bout.
“The 12th round of my last fight, I feel like that’s really woken me up,” said Berlanga. “I haven’t missed anything, I know I have got the power to hurt anybody and I feel different as a fighter, mentally, physically and spiritually.
“I know that there’s going to be fireworks coming from me on February 24, that’s a fact. I’m coming for the KO. He can say whatever he wants, but at the end of the day we have to go in there and tussle.
“Me at my best, nobody is fucking with me. When I am 100 per cent, which you’ll see on February 24, I am unstoppable.
“I’ve sacrificed a lot, changing my environment, coming to the suburbs and being fully locked in on myself and my craft. I’ve refocused on the small details of my style to bring the best out of me. So, from all that right there, it’s going to be something amazing.
“There is jealousy. I’m here in Tampa now and there’s a lot of people out there that were acting like they were my friends and they weren’t.
“People that were close to me that were envying me, so I got rid of all those people and I’m just focused on myself and my team and I feel that with God with me, the sky is the limit and there’s nothing stopping me.
“I’ll be one of the best 168-pound fighters in the world. I think that after this fight my name is going to be buzzing again, and people will be talking about me and Canelo in September or Jaime Munguia. I feel those fights are there to be made and it’s time to go capture a belt.”
Berlanga says reuniting with his old trainer Marc Farrait and adding strength and conditioning coach Angel ‘Memo’ Heredia to his team has made all the difference.
“I’m not the guy that fought Jason and he’s going to see that,” he said. “I’m getting better and better. I was four years away from Marc before that fight and I went through a lot of injuries in that camp.
“I’m on a different level now physically. I’m sparring 15, 16 rounds with three or four different guys and I didn’t get a chance to do that in my last camp with the injuries and coming back to camp overweight with the lay-off and not having a promoter, going through some depression in New York.
“We brought in ‘Memo’ who every knows has worked with the best and we know we can go 12 strong rounds and go at it hard, and I know that if I do that, no one can stand a chance with me.”