ORLANDO, FLORIDA – Edgar Berlanga spent the build-up to his fight with Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz complaining about being in the co-main event, six months after battling Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in Las Vegas. He name-checked the likes of Jaime Munguia, Caleb Plant and Jermall Charlo as potential future opponents. One thing he barely did was mention Gonzalez-Ortiz.

He showed why he was somewhat contemptuous of his foe on Saturday night, dropping him three times and stopping him in the first round of a super-middleweight contest at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida.

After patiently stalking Gonzalez-Ortiz, Berlanga dropped him hard with a left hook halfway through the round. Gonzalez-Ortiz rose uncertainly to his feet and referee Chris Young allowed him to continue, only for Berlanga to drop him again. Once more, Gonzalez-Ortiz rose to his feet, but when Berlanga sent him down again, Young waved the contest, such as it was, to a halt. The time was 2:31.

“I feel amazing,” Berlanga, 23-1 (18 KOs), said afterward. “I started seeing his eye get swollen and stuff. He was shaking it off, but I could tell I was hurting him. Now I’m a free agent. No problem with Eddie Hearn; he was a good promoter, but now I’m a free agent and I’m on to bigger and better things.”

Truth be told, Gonzalez-Ortiz, who fell to 20-1-1 (16 KOs), had no business being in the ring with a former world title challenger such as Berlanga. Gonzalez-Ortiz's undefeated record masked the fact that he had spent a full 10 years out of the ring prior to two outings in 2024. Hearn acknowledged that nobody was happy with the matchup, but he expressed hope that it wouldn’t prevent Berlanga from re-signing with Matchroom.

“It wasn’t an ideal situation, but when you’re at that level, you fight at that level,” he said. “I think the Canelo Alvarez fight will make him a better fighter. I’d love to work with him in the future. We hope the relationship extends, but if not, we’ll have a beer together and sail off into the sunset.”

Kieran Mulvaney has written, broadcast and podcast about boxing for HBO, Showtime, ESPN and Reuters, among other outlets. He presently co-hosts the “Fighter Health Podcast” with Dr. Margaret Goodman. He also writes regularly for National Geographic, has written several books on the Arctic and Antarctic, and is at his happiest hanging out with wild polar bears. His website is www.kieranmulvaney.com.