Zuffa Boxing returned to The Big Apple on Sunday, July 26, at the Infosys Theater in Madison Square Garden, where two of New York’s elite boxing talents delivered eye-catching performances at the top of the card.
In the main event of the evening, Edgar Berlanga got up off the canvas to stop Canadian knockout artist Steven Butler in a thrilling super middleweight encounter, while in the co-main, former super-lightweight world champion Richardson Hitchins delivered a virtuoso performance to announce his arrival as a world championship contender in the welterweight division.
New York’s own Edgar “The Chosen One” Berlanga closed the show in style as he claimed victory in a fight filled with bad blood with a seventh-round stoppage of Canada’s Steven “Bang Bang” Butler.
WATCH: Berlanga's Ring Interview
The tension was palpable as the two noted knockout artists got the action underway, and it was Berlanga who seemed to settle the fastest, working well behind an educated jab.
Then, in Round 2, we saw the high-wire act being walked by both men as, after a round that had been dominated by Berlanga, Butler dropped him in the closing seconds of the round with a solid left hand.
That knockdown lit the touchpaper for a wild third round, as Berlanga loaded up and came storming back, as he battered Butler around the ring with a succession of heavy, clubbing shots. Butler did his best to avoid the stoppage, holding, dipping through the ropes, and even launching into an MMA-style takedown, before clipping Berlanga with a pair of huge shots of his own just before the bell sounded to end the round.
The back-and-forth action continued through Rounds 4 and 5, with Berlanga landing the better, heavier shots, and in the sixth, Berlanga finished strong with a barrage of big right hands that eventually forced Butler to the canvas for a knockdown.
Such was the punishment Butler took at the end of the round, the referee warned him in the corner between rounds that he would give him 60 seconds to show that he’s still in the fight, and Butler landed a big right hand in the opening minute to show that he still had power in his hands. But, moments later, Berlanga loaded up and connected with a multi-punch salvo that repeatedly rocked Butler’s head backwards. The referee decided he’d seen enough, and dived in to call an end to the fight.
It extended Berlanga’s unbeaten record at Madison Square Garden to 6-0, and improved his overall record to 24 wins, two defeats. But, more importantly, it saw Berlanga move on from his knockout loss to Hamzah Sheeraz in his previous fight. And with a stoppage win added to his resumé, Berlanga said he’s setting his sights on the super middleweight division’s big names once again, including a possible rematch with Sheeraz.
In the night’s co-main event, former super-lightweight world champion Richardson Hitchins announced his arrival in the welterweight division with a near-flawless display to defeat Mexico’s Ricardo “Magic Man” Salas via unanimous decision.
Hitchins decided to move up a division upon his arrival in Zuffa Boxing in order to compete in a more natural weight class, and he delivered a hugely impressive performance to immediately put the welterweight elite on notice.
“Africa” quickly established his jab, and it was quickly apparent that he had a significant speed and accuracy advantage to go along with his three-and-a-half-inch reach advantage. Hitchins used those tools to great effect as he comprehensively outboxed Salas, whose only two prior losses had come via split decision.
That wasn’t the case this time, however, with Hitchins’ dominance reflected in the scorecards as he pitched a shutout, with scores of 100-90 on all three scorecards.
Hitchins’ victory immediately throws him into the mix with some of the top fighters in the sport, and he wasted no time in calling out the division’s big names as he confirmed his intention to take on, and beat, the best in the world at 147 pounds.
Jalil Hackett’s debut at middleweight threw him in with a grizzled veteran of the game as the 23-year-old scrapped all the way to the scorecards with 40-year-old former world title challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko in a smash-mouth battle of generations at 160 pounds.
The action was aggressive from the start as Derevyanchenko quickly looked to bully his younger opponent, but Hackett stood his ground and fired back in kind. The early exchanges eventually led to an accidental clash of heads that opened up a cut on Derevyanchenko’s brow.
By the time the action had reached the fourth round, both men were planting their feet and throwing with full power in almost every exchange as the pair engaged in a battle of wills, with Hackett lighting up the Ukrainian with a blurring combination right at the end of the round.
Hackett continued his good work in the fifth as his pace and pressure started to bear fruit. His shots seemed to be having a greater effect on the 40-year-old, then a beautifully-picked uppercut sent Derevyanchanko staggering backward just before the bell.
Hackett kept his foot on the gas as he pushed the pace through the remaining rounds, but found Derevyanchenko to be every bit as tough and stubborn as he was as they battled all the way to the final bell.
In the final reckoning, Hackett’s superior work through the second half of the fight proved decisive as he earned scores of 98-92, 97-93, 96-94 to claim the 13th win of his career.
Vladyslav Sirenko went toe to toe with experienced heavyweight campaigner Otto Wallin, then closed the show with a devastating two-punch knockout in the last second of the fight to claim a massive victory on his Zuffa Boxing debut.
After a high-energy opening round from both fighters, the action started to settle down through the next couple of rounds, with both fighters having some success, but the action never truly caught fire as the bout descended into trench warfare as the pair traded shots at close range, with neither seemingly having the power to trouble the other.
But that all changed in the final round of the contest, as Sirenko turned up the pressure and, with Wallin backed up against the ropes as the final seconds ticked down, unleashed a vicious two-punch combination that knocked Wallin out cold with just one second left on the clock.
Twenty-one-year-old Emiliano Moreno scored the biggest victory of his young career as he outworked Arnold “AG” Gonzalez over eight rounds in their welterweight contest.
Despite Moreno olding the height and reach advantages, it was Gonzalez who pushed the pace early as he exerted controlled forward pressure, landing solidly to head and body. But by the end of Round 2, Moreno had started to find his mark with his jab. It led to a wild exchange at the end of the round, with both men landing big shots as the bell sounded.
Remarkably, the third round followed almost the same template, with Gonzalez pressuring for much of the round, then another crazy exchange, but this time it was Moreno who had the best of the exchange as he landed two big, flush shots just before the bell.
Boosted by his end-of-round successes in the second and third, Moreno settled into his work through the middle rounds and worked smartly behind his jab to score with clean, clear shots, while covering up well when “AG” looked to blitz in throwing punches in bunches from close range.
Moreno held the upper hand through the remainder of the contest and, despite Gonzalez’s corner’s pleadings, “AG” wasn’t able to find his mark in the closing rounds as Moreno cruised to a relatively straightforward decision win, with scores of 79-73, 78-74, 78-74.
Kashaun Davis won the battle of the undefeated heavyweight knockout artists, as the native of Pearl, Mississippi registered the first decision victory of his career to extend his career record to 12-0.
Davis started fast and showcased remarkable hand speed for a 300-pound athlete as he let his fists fly early and forced Nistor to cover up. Davis continued to land heavy leather on Nistor, whose only defense appeared to be to hold on.
Nistor looked to land overhands while walking in, and it caused several head clashes as the bout wore on. A cut seemed an inevitability, and it was Nistor who ended up busted open, with an accidental clash of heads opening up a nasty cut above the Romanian’s right eye. To make things worse, Nistor was later deducted a point in Round 5 for excessive holding.
Nistor tried to find a single fight-changing shot, but nothing he landed had any serious effect on Davis, who absorbed everything his opponent could throw at him, and answered with multiple shots.
Nistor exhibited a solid chin and plenty of heart as he hung tough for the full eight-round duration. But when the scorecards were totalled, it told the story of a relatively one-sided encounter, with “Big Baby” running out the landslide unanimous decision winner, with scores of 80-71, 80-71, 79-72.
Featherweight Troy Nash made his third Zuffa Boxing appearance, and showcased the latest iteration of his boxing skillset as he outworked fellow undefeated prospect Ethan Perez over eight rounds in their 126-pound matchup.
In a competitive bout, Nash looked a cut above his opponent, with slicker work, sharper counters and more effective output up close, as well as at range.
Perez gamely pushed forward and applied pressure throughout the contest, but Nash’s more polished skills ensured that he picked him off on the way in, and controlled the action for much of the eight-round distance to score a majority decision victory.
Two of the three ringside judges scored the bout to Nash, with the third scoring the bout a draw as “The Bank” cashed in for his third straight victory under the Zuffa Boxing banner.
In the opening bout of the night, Argentina’s Andres Sosa handed American Dominique Francis the first defeat of his career after eight super-competitive rounds at super featherweight.
Francis started smartly to edge the exchanges in the opening round, but Sosa picked up the pace and intensity in the second, then landed the punch of the fight in Round 3, when he connected with a huge left hook to drop Francis to the canvas.
Francis tried to box his way back into the contest, but Sosa’s forward pressure and relentless attack, with looping overhands and vicious body shots scoring consistently as he edged the majority of the rounds from the midway point on.
Both men dug deep in the final round, with Francis pushing hard for the finish, but Sosa took everything the Miami native could throw at him, then returned fire with interest as the bout went to the judges’ scorecards, with Sosa getting the nod with scores of 79-72, 78-73, 77-73.
