NEW YORK – “The Chosen One” has become “The Frozen One.”

Edgar Berlanga, who generated buzz both inside and outside of the boxing industry by knocking out each of his first 16 pro opponents in the first round, is stuck somewhere between once-promising prospect and contender in the super middleweight division. The unbeaten, Brooklyn-born banger’s last fight wasn’t just his second straight bout that went the distance.

It was a damning display that proved Berlanga, when faced with durable boxers who won’t allow him to knock them out, needs to start demonstrating all the boxing ability that he and his team have insisted the past couple years that he routinely exhibits during sparring sessions in the gym. It’s now or never versus Steve Rolls, who figures to be a truer test Saturday night for the vulnerable Berlanga than the 16-1 odds indicate he’ll be in Berlanga’s first fight since having surgery five months ago to repair a torn left biceps.

If the taller, stronger Berlanga (18-0, 16 KOs) can’t show different dimensions to his game against Rolls (21-1, 12 KOs) it might mean Berlanga is what he has shown to be over the course of his past 18 rounds in the ring. A powerful, tough fighter who will usually make for good TV, yet isn’t quite good enough to truly contend for a 168-pound world title, let alone win one.

Bob Arum, Berlanga’s promoter, will be among the most interested bystanders who’ll sit ringside for Berlanga-Rolls at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater (ESPN; 10 p.m. ET).

“I wanna see if he is truly back and what he can do with Rolls, who’s a real good, professional fighter,” Arum told BoxingScene.com. “Let’s see how good he is. Lou [DiBella, Rolls’ promoter] was telling me that if his fighter doesn’t get hit on the chin, he wins the fight. Well, we’ll see. I’m looking to see how complete a fighter Berlanga has become. He’s been training in our gym in Las Vegas, and he looked terrific. But it’s different from training in a gym and fighting. So, you know, I’m gonna be interested in how he performs.”

If Berlanga performs well in ESPN’s main event and doesn’t suffer any cuts or injuries, Arum’s plan is to bring Berlanga back to Hulu Theater against an undetermined opponent June 11, the night before the annual Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York. The hope among Arum and Top Rank’s other decision-makers is that, in the ring, Berlanga emerges as more Miguel Cotto than Felix Verdejo as they try to build the 24-year-old ticket-seller into boxing’s next iconic Puerto Rican fighter.

Berlanga already has shown star power most boxers don’t possess.

Berlanga is close with such entertainment superstars as “Fat Joe” and Tracy Morgan, and often interacts with A-list celebrities. He is a popular figure on social media as well, with 344,000 Instagram followers.

None of that will matter all that much in terms of Berlanga becoming an even bigger box office draw if he doesn’t develop in the ring. Arum is hopeful that Rolls, who gave Gennadiy Golovkin some trouble before Golovkin knocked him out in the fourth round of their June 2019 bout, will help Berlanga bring out those supposed boxing skills under the bright lights, before what is expected to be a capacity crowd of more than 5,000.

The 90-year-old Arum acknowledged, though, that no matter how Berlanga performs Saturday night, Top Rank’s decision-makers agree that he is not ready for the top performers in the 168-pound division.

“The first 16 fights, he couldn’t show it,” Arum said of Berlanga’s boxing skills. “He just knocked the guys out. So yeah, he’s a work in progress. Somebody came up to me and said [David] Benavidez said he offered Berlanga a fight with him, and Berlanga turned it down. I said, ‘Are you f------ crazy?’ Berlanga’s not ready to fight a Benavidez.’ Maybe a year from now, maybe two years from now he would. Benavidez is experienced, a world-class fighter, quite good. Maybe Berlanga will be better. Maybe intrinsically he is better, but he doesn’t have anywhere near the experience to fight with Benavidez.”

Five months after Marcelo Coceres exposed some of Berlanga’s defensive flaws, Arum and his matchmakers think Berlanga is ready for Rolls. Toronto’s Rolls is probably more suited to fight at the middleweight limit of 160 pounds, but he is experienced as a super middleweight and has lost only to Kazakhstan’s Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs).

For Berlanga to perform more effectively versus Rolls than he did with Coerces, he’ll have to be more mindful of defense. Argentina’s Coceres caught Berlanga with several eye-catching right hands that got his attention.

Neither Coceres (30-3-1, 16 KOs) nor Rolls are considered big punchers, but Rolls kept Golovkin honest in the first three rounds of their fight. Coceres’ counter right hand sent Berlanga to the canvas for the first time in 18 professional fights, but an angered Berlanga got up quickly, finished their 10-rounder strong and won seven of their 10 rounds on all three scorecards (96-93, 96-93, 96-93).

Some criticism of Berlanga’s performance against Coceres should be tempered because he tore his left biceps during the third round. He fought, in effect, with one arm for seven-plus rounds and needed surgery to repair the damage.

Rolls, meanwhile, believes he’ll be too much for the heavily favored Berlanga.

“I’ve already been here, in a main event at The Garden,” Rolls said in reference to his loss to Golovkin. “And he hasn’t fought anybody of my caliber yet, so I think it’s gonna be a big advantage for me.”

Berlanga’s promoters made this bout because they believe Berlanga can overcome Rolls’ experience edge and other attributes.

The self-proclaimed “Chosen One” had better prove them right. If he doesn’t defeat Rolls impressively – either by knockout or convincingly on points – “The Frozen One” might become a more suitable nickname.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing