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Undefeated ace middleweight Edgar Berlanga thought helium was rich. His father, Edgar Sr., had offered him $100 per triumph successful the Ringside World Championships.
And $400 was an atrocious batch of wealth for a 9-year-old.
“It was successful twenties. I had a small stack,” Berlanga said with a grin. “I bought a brace of Jordans. I was little, truthful my size was astir apt 80 bucks. I bought a small outfit. I thought I was the small antheral astatine 9 years old.”
He fights for a full batch much than $100 these days.
Berlanga, present 24, is 1 of the apical young fighters successful boxing. He is backmost successful Las Vegas this week connected the undercard of the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder heavyweight rubric fight.
The Brooklyn, New York, autochthonal began his nonrecreational vocation with an astounding streak of 16 first-round knockouts and has his sights acceptable connected eventual ace middleweight supremacy.
“I deliberation I’m connected the verge of becoming 1 of the biggest superstars successful boxing,” Berlanga said. “I’m a champ already. … It conscionable hasn’t caught up yet.”
Berlanga carries himself with an unwavering consciousness of confidence. It’s an cognition helium cultivated portion increasing up successful Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood.
His Puerto Rican practice conjured successful Berlanga a consciousness of reverance for the island’s iconic fighters, namely Felix Trinidad. And the elder Berlanga thought the athletics of boxing could assistance harness immoderate of his son’s youthful energy: “I knew if I took attraction of him the close mode … he’s going to marque it,” helium said.
He was right.
Berlanga began boxing erstwhile helium was 7, grooming each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He initially resisted. He said he’d outcry connected his mode to the gym.
But “by the clip I’m retired of the gym, I’m the happiest kid,” helium said. “I liked it, I conscionable hated the process of going to the gym. I wanted to beryllium outside. I wanted to beryllium a kid astatine the park. … Just from there, kept climbing the ladder.”
Berlanga won his archetypal 15 amateur fights, including the 4 astatine the Ringside World Championships — and added a bevy of different amateur honors, including a Golden Gloves inferior nationalist championship.
He said helium discovered his prodigious powerfulness astatine the property 17 aft watching idiosyncratic get knocked retired portion sparring.
“It conscionable grew successful me. I already knew I had it successful me. I conscionable didn’t cognize however to usage it,” Berlanga said. “I’ve got atrocious intentions. My mind, erstwhile I enactment connected those 10-ounce gloves, nary headgear, combat nighttime and the lights travel on, I privation to punch a spread done somebody. If I tin punch a feline done his thorax and marque my fist spell done his back, that’s what we’re doing.”
Berlanga utilized his powerfulness for the archetypal clip arsenic a nonrecreational connected April 29, 2016. He knocked retired Jorge Pedroz successful the archetypal circular that night, thereby opening the streak. He won his archetypal 9 fights to drawback Top Rank’s attraction and signed a declaration successful 2019 with the Las Vegas-based promotional firm.
He yet went the region successful his past combat April 24, beating Demond Nicholson by unanimous decision.
Berlanga tin commencement a caller knockout streak Saturday and is eyeing a combat adjacent twelvemonth against 1 of the apical 10 fighters successful the 168-pound division. He’ll combat again successful December astatine Madison Square Garden and could combat successful Puerto Rico successful March and successful New York adjacent summertime during the aforesaid play arsenic the Puerto Rican Day Parade.
Boxing is simply a marathon — not a sprint, helium says, and helium trusts successful his trajectory.
“We triumph Saturday, successful December we measurement up a small spot more. In March a small more. Like that,” Berlanga said. “In 2023, I’m looking for the title.”
Contact newsman Sam Gordon astatine sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon connected Twitter.
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