Edgar Berlanga dropped Jason Quigley four times in front of a packed out Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday night to land his latest win.
The undefeated New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent is one of the best ticket sellers in his home town, while Irishman Quigley attracted a solid base in his own regard alongside a host of local undercard fighters. It made for a cauldron of noise in the famed venue by bell time in the main event for what was Berlanga's first fight under the Matchroom Boxing banner.
Unfortunately for Berlanga and promoter Eddie Hearn, the bloom was taken off the rose of the night's action by Canelo Alvarez's announcement that he would be heading to PBC. Plans had been in place to build Berlanga as a potential opponent for Alvarez under the Matchroom banner, but the undisputed super-middleweight champion has now signed a multi-fight deal elsewhere.
Quigley arrived into the ring a whopping 8/1 underdog with bookies, having previously been stopped twice including a disaster two-round knockout against Demetrious Andrade in his initial world title effort. But the Irishman appeared confident all week, finally reunited in the corner with his long-time coach Andy Lee, who had missed his previous two outings.
It was a tentative start from both, with Quigley attempting to impose himself early against his far more powerful adversary. Despite his 14 knockouts, the Donegal native is not known for his power and the difference was on display early between the pair as Berlanga landed the bigger shots in the opening exchanges.
Berlanga looked close to landing his big power shots throughout the second but wasn't keen to pull the trigger, before putting Quigley down in the third with a solid left hook. By the fourth, the American began to push the pace in search of his first stoppage since December of 2020.
The fifth saw Quigley moving and trying to survive, ultimately succumbing to his second knockdown when a body shot caught him while he was on the way to slipping. In round six Berlanga stalked his prey, allowing Quigley back into it, even though the Irishman tasted the canvas a third time, this time ruled a slip. The Irishman ended the round strong with a stinging right.
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Round seven saw Quigley stagger Berlanga during a couple of exchanges as he began to come into his own, despite an air of inevitability to Berlanga's power still as they headed into the eighth. However, with the New Yorker going into the later rounds he appeared to lose a step, allowing his rival in a lot more in the exchanges.
The ninth saw both men land significantly, with the tenth almost dead even as Quigley began to dance around Berlanga. The first eleventh round of either's career saw an understandably slower pace and was pushed even longer when a low blow from the home fighter, not his first offence of the evening, was finally called.
Round 12 saw Berlanga gunning for this finish, dropping Quigley halfway through before unloading in an effort to end the night, picking up a dodgy second knockdown. And it was those two scores that ultimately bailed the 26-year-old out on home turf in yet another difficult night at the office
On the undercard, popular local prospect Reshat Mati scraped stopped game veteran Dakota Linger in the ninth, before local hero Adam Kownacki returned to the ring, arguably the most popular fighter of the night. Polish fans in attendance roared on the heavyweight like it was his show, but with his career on the line he was brutally dropped in the first round by the little fancied Joe Cusumano.
He did tremendously well to recover for a solid second and third, arguably winning both before a razor-close fourth and a difficult fifth. But his incredible comeback wasn't to be as Cusumano refused to relent, and handed him his fourth straight defeat with a stoppage in the eighth.
