Steve Rolls can still make middleweight if necessary.
The 5-foot-10 Canadian contender couldn’t pass up the opportunity that’ll await him Saturday night, though. Toronto’s Rolls is considered a big underdog against Edgar Berlanga, but he believes he is equipped and experienced enough to pull off an upset in a 10-round main event ESPN will broadcast from Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York.
Rolls stepped on the New York State Athletic Commission’s scale at 167.8 pounds Friday afternoon. Brooklyn’s Berlanga officially came in at 167.4 pounds.
Caesars Sportsbook has established Berlanga as a 16-1 favorite versus Rolls.
The 37-year-old Rolls (21-1, 12 KOs) feels he is more than ready for this type of bout because he fought Gennadiy Golovkin in June 2019 at Madison Square Garden. Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) knocked out Rolls in the fourth round, but their scheduled 12-round fight was competitive before Golovkin knocked Rolls to the canvas, face first, with a left hand that abruptly ended their fight.
The 24-year-old Berlanga (18-0, 16 KOs) will fight for the first time since he underwent surgery five months ago to repair a torn left biceps. Berlanga sustained that injury during the third round of his 10-round, unanimous-decision defeat of Marcelo Coceres on October 9 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Argentina’s Coceres (30-3-1, 16 KOs) scored a flash knockdown late in the ninth round. Berlanga got right to his feet, however, and won by the same score, 96-93, on all three cards.
ESPN will air three fights, the first two of which are listed below.
ESPN
10 p.m. ET; 7 p.m. PT
Xander Zayas (12-0, 9 KOs), San Juan, Puerto Rico, 152.6 pounds vs. Quincy LaVallais (12-2-1, 7 KOs), Metairie, Louisiana, 152.6 pounds, 8 rounds, junior middleweights.
John Bauza (16-0, 7 KOs), North Bergen, New Jersey, 140.2 pounds vs. Tony Luis (29-4, 10 KOs), Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, 140.8 pounds, 8 rounds, junior welterweights.
ESPN+
7:15 p.m. ET; 4:15 p.m. PT
Jahi Tucker (6-0, 6 KOs), Deer Park, New York, 147.8 pounds vs. Tracey McGruder (6-1, 4 KOs), Rochester, New York, 147.8 pounds, 6 rounds, welterweights.
Henry Lebron (14-0, 9 KOs), Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, 130.6 pounds vs. Josec Ruiz (23-5-3, 16 KOs), Tegucigalpa, Honduras, 130.4 pounds, 8 rounds, junior lightweights.
Bruce Carrington (2-0, 1 KO), Brooklyn, 129.8 pounds vs. Yeuri Andujar (5-4-1, 3 KOs), San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, 129.6 pounds, 6 rounds, junior lightweights.
Armani Almestica (4-0, 4 KOs), Orlando, Florida, 139.2 pounds vs. Luis Valentin Portalatin (3-3, 1 KO), Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, 140.2 pounds, 4 rounds, junior welterweights.
Kelvin Davis (3-0, 2 KOs), Norfolk, Virginia, 143.6 pounds vs. Phillip Carmouche (2-2, 0 KOs), Las Vegas, 144.8 pounds, 4 rounds, welterweights.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
