Edgar Berlanga, Shakur Stevenson represent boxing's polar opposites on top of intriguing NYC card
There is Edgar Berlanga (23-1, 18 KOs), who told The Post: 'I've just learned throughout the years, in order to be a big megastar in boxing, you can have all the medals you want, all the world titles you want, three-time undisputed, two-time undisputed, undisputed world champion, but if you can't catch the people's attention, you're nothing in the sport.
'Right now, I don't have a world title and I make five times more than guys that got world titles, multiple world titles. That goes to show that you don't really need a world title. You don't need a title to certify your name in the sport of boxing.
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6 Edgar Berlanga leaves his corner to fight Steve Rolls during their super middleweight bout in the Hulu Theatre at Madison Garden on March 19, 2022 in New York.
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'In this day and age, as long as you can fight, you're entertaining the crowd, you're not a runner, you go in there to fight and you're looking for knockouts and you're looking to be sharp and talk crap, you talk the talk and you can walk the walk, that's the most important thing. I'm the only guy on this card that's really bringing that entertainment to the sport. And that's what it needs, it needs that.'
Then there's Shakur Stevenson:
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'I'm not talking bad and I'm not saying slurs with my speeches,' he told The Post. 'Honestly, none of that s–t matters, at the end of the day. How everybody feels, they can feel, they're entitled to their opinion. It don't really matter what anybody else thinks.'
Both are on the highly anticipated card Saturday night at Louis Armstrong Stadium at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, site of the U.S. Open — the first bout that will be fought at the venue.
6 Shakur Stevenson of the US in action against Oscar Valdez of Mexico during their WBO/WBC/Ring Magazine Junior Lightweight title fight on April 30, 2022 at the Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
EPA
Both are 28 years old. Both grew up locally — Berlanga in New York City and Stevenson in Newark. But they represent polar opposites.
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Berlanga is flashy, cocky, braggadocious and style over substance.
He has a fan-friendly, exciting approach inside the ring, relentlessly looking for knockouts with big punches.
6 Edgar Berlanga celebrates his first round Technical Knockout against Cesar Nunez during their super middleweight bout at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 14, 2019 in New York City.
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He began his career with 16 first-round knockouts and 18 of his 23 wins have been by stoppage.
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His stardom is ahead of his accolades, which helped him land a lucrative bout against Canelo Alvarez last September.
Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs), on the other hand, is much less of a trash-talker and more substance over style.
6 Shakur Stevenson (right) punches Germany's Artem Harutyunyan during the ninth round of a WBC world lightweight championship boxing match on July 7, 2024, in Newark, N.J.
AP
He's a three-division world champion and has dominated every pro bout he's fought.
But his approach is much less appealing to casual fans — he knocks out very few opponents and is one of the best defensive and most elusive fighters in the sport.
That results in much less action and output, so much so that Turki Al-Sheikh — whose Riyadh Season promotional company is putting on the card — has trolled Stevenson, saying he produces 'Tom and Jerry' type fights.
Stevenson's stardom lags his accomplishments, and he's yet to have a signature bout against a superstar.
6 Shakur Stevenson celebrates after defeating Felix Caraballo (not pictured) by TKO in the sixth round of their super featherweight bout at MGM Grand Conference Center Grand Ballroom on June 9, 2020 in Las Vegas.
Top Rank via Getty Images
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Stevenson is the one defending a title — his WBC lightweight belt — against William Zepeda.
But it is Berlanga — whose super middleweight bout against Hamzah Sheeraz has no titles at stake — who is the main event, while Stevenson is the co-main event.
In the modern boxing landscape, attention is often more lucrative than accomplishments.
'Boxing is real big in the city,' Berlanga said. 'Just not for any boxers, because there's a lot of boxers that are represented in New York right now. They're not making an effect like that because they're not delivering what people want, and that's knockouts. They don't deliver what people want, and that's entertainment. I have the whole package.
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6 New York boxer Edgar Berlanga posing for a photo during a training session at Competitive Edge Athletics in Port Washington.
Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
'When you bring that excitement, when you bring the swag and the look and you come from New York and you entertain the fans and you talk crap to the other opponent and you talk crap to promoters, you be flamboyant, you talk the talk and you walk the walk, that's when you're drawing a big crowd of people. That's what the people love in New York.
'You saw when the Knicks were playing? We're cocky. We're super cocky, and when we win, we're even more cocky. It's just in us. That's just us, that's our energy.'
Saturday will represent a unique atmosphere — outdoors at a tennis stadium.
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For his part, Stevenson is promising more excitement.
'I know this is the first time anyone has ever fought at this stadium,' Stevenson said. 'I will be the first person and I will be leaving my name on it. … I think this fight kind of takes me to another level. I'm fighting at a stadium nobody has ever fought at.
'I just know this is the fight that's gonna do it. William Zepeda is gonna bring out another side to me that the fans haven't gotten a chance to see yet.'
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