After three years, Edgar Berlanga lastly was capable of finish his three-year knockout drought on Saturday night time.
Berlanga dropped beforehand unbeaten Irishman Padraig McCrory with an overhand proper within the sixth spherical, prompting the nook to throw within the towel on the 2:44 mark, giving Berlanga a technical knockout victory at Caribe Royale in Orlando, Fla.
Berlanga (22-0, 17 knockouts) of Brooklyn, N.Y. had not scored a knockout since December of 2020, when he scored his sixteenth straight first spherical KO to start out his profession.
McCrory (18-1, 9 KOs) of Belfast, Northern Eire was preventing exterior of Europe for the primary time in his seven 12 months profession.
The 26-year-old Berlanga and promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing has been hoping {that a} spectacular win may open the door to a mega-money showdown with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, the undisputed tremendous middleweight champion. Hearn mentioned afterwards that he thinks that battle is “solely a matter of time,” saying that he thinks the battle ought to occur in Could or September.
Berlanga did his half to construct help for the matchup, asking the gang in Orlando, which has one of many largest Puerto Rican communities within the continental U.S., in the event that they wished that bout.
Berlanga managed the battle many of the means, however nonetheless confirmed some indicators of frustration, hitting McCrory with an intentional elbow within the third spherical. The act of aggression appeared to shake up McCrory, who was damage for the primary time in spherical 3 with a proper hand from Berlanga. Berlanga damage McCrory once more within the fourth spherical, beating him to the punch with a left hook after which opening up alongside the ropes.
DOWN GOES MCCRORY AND IT’S OVER 🔥🔥🔥
Sixth spherical KO 💣#BerlangaMcCrory | @DAZNBoxing pic.twitter.com/ywvdpFoSE9
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) February 25, 2024
McCrory, whose file was constructed largely towards unknown opposition, started lunging in to attempt to smother Berlanga, however the finish was imminent within the sixth, as proper arms rained down with worrying accuracy.
Andy Cruz, the 2020 Olympic gold medalist from Cuba, went the space for the second time as a professional, defeating Brayan Zamarripa by unanimous resolution in a ten-round scheduled light-weight bout.
The scores had been 100-90 on all three playing cards, all for Cruz (3-0, 2 KOs), who has been a professional since final July.
Cruz, 28, was in whole command all through, strolling down Zamarripa (14-3, 5 KOs) and touchdown constantly with the best hand to the pinnacle and physique of his southpaw opponent, who was preventing for the primary time exterior of his native Mexico.
Cruz, who’s now skilled by Jaron Ennis’ father/coach Derek “Bozy” Ennis Sr., gave the impression to be near a stoppage within the sixth and seventh rounds, as he busted his nostril and opened up in combos. Cruz appeared to take his foot off the gasoline pedal within the eighth spherical, enabling Zamarripa to outlive.
Cruz landed 46 of his punches, in comparison with simply 20 p.c from Zamarripa. Cruz was credited with touchdown 142 of his 312 makes an attempt, whereas Zamarripa landed simply 26 of 133 makes an attempt.
In a less-than-stellar outing, Shakhram Giyasov (15-0, 9 KOs) gained an eleven spherical technical resolution over former title challenger Pablo Cesar Cano (25-9-1, 25 KOs) by unanimous scores of 109-99. The battle was stopped after the eleventh spherical, when the 34-year-old Cano fell down after the bell and injured his proper foot.
Giyasov, 30, of Bukhara, Uzbekistan scored a knockdown in spherical three with a left hook to the physique, however spent many of the battle in counterpuncher mode towards Cano. Cano appeared to drop Giyasov in spherical 9 when a brief hook grazed his chin, nevertheless it was scored a slip.
The battle was a WBA welterweight elimination bout, with Giyasov already rated no. 1 on the weight.
The loss snaps a two-fight profitable streak for Cano, who was knocked out in two rounds by Danielito Zorrilla in September of 2021.
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