Bob Arum, Edgar Berlanga’s former promoter, said that the super middleweight was too ambitious for him. Arum’s Top Rank and Berlanga, the hard-hitting, popular Puerto Rican from Brooklyn, New York, parted ways a few weeks ago, according to reports.
Arum stated to iD Boxing, “We had a different philosophy and we didn’t want to hold him back.” However, he is bound and determined to move at a rate for which we do not believe he is prepared. He has a different perspective, and I wish him the best of luck. He is a pleasant young man. Father is a nice person, but we have a different perspective on where he is going.
Berlanga, who signed with Top Rank in 2019 and has a record of 20-0 with 16 knockouts, was initially hailed as one of the more exciting young knockout artists in the sport. However, that reputation has deteriorated recently as he has struggled to appear impressive in his subsequent fights. Berlanga, 25, has won his last four bouts by going the distance after defeating his first 16 opponents within striking distance.
On social media, at least one fighter suggested that Berlanga’s disagreements with Top Rank were caused by differences in how he weighed the risks and rewards. The 168-pound Philadelphia veteran and longtime client of Top Rank, Jesse Hart, suggested that Top Rank wanted Berlanga to fight him, but Berlanga refused.
In a tweet, Hart stated, “The main problem is that he doesn’t want to fight me; instead, he wants to fight over-the-hill, big-money guys like “I’ll never fight em.” When TR Boxing tried to get him to fight, he kept saying no.” Hart was referring to the fight between the two men.
Numerous potential suitors, including Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn and Golden Boy’s Oscar De La Hoya, have expressed an interest in Berlanga ever since the public announcement of his free agency.
Hearn indicated that he would be interested in pairing Berlanga with Mexico’s undisputed 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez at some point in the future to capitalize on their respective nations’ ingrained sporting rivalries.
Recently, De La Hoya insisted that he would be willing to board a plane and discuss working with Berlanga.
Hearn and De La Hoya have output deals with DAZN, a sports streaming service that charges a subscription fee. Keith Connolly, who is best known for managing Daniel Jacobs and Sergiy Derevyanchenko, is in charge of Berlanga.