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Retired former world champion Tim Bradley was unimpressed by the performance of Puerto Rican prospect Edgar ‘The Chosen One’ Berlanga 19-0 (16) in his 10-round unanimous decision win over Steve Rolls 21-2 (12) at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
The 24-year-old Berlanga, who fights at super middleweight, failed to cut off the ring, neglected the jab and only went to the body late in the fight. He won by scores of 97-93, 97-93 and 96-94.
“Main event, you got to understand that. The main event and you’re in this arena and all Puerto Rican fans came out to see you,” ESPN commentator Bradley said to Fighthype.
“No, he didn’t get the knockout, but he didn’t land anything really significant. A couple of shots. Come on, man. You gotta be way better than that.
“You got to convince the fans that you are going to be the next. You can’t just talk about it. You got to be about it. Edgar needs to understand that he needs to bring what he did in the gym and bring it under these bright lights because I’m hearing he tears up a lot of guys inside the gym.
“I hear he looks fantastic in the gym, but when he gets under these bright lights, he becomes a deer under the headlights. You had three coaches in the corner.
“I don’t know if they were all on the same page, and you saw a guy, I don’t want to say timid, but he seemed confused. He wasn’t sure how to beat [Rolls]. He didn’t have an identity tonight. Normally, he’s an aggressive guy, he’s coming forward, he’s swinging blows, he’s going back and forth and he wants to mix that action up.
“He didn’t seem to be that guy, he didn’t seem to be that killer tonight. Bro, 37-years-old blown up middleweight, are you kidding me?
“The biggest problem that happened with Berlanga. He’s still young. Should I write him off? No, but from what I see, Edgar needs to go back and sit down with his team and they all need to get on the same page.
“If he doesn’t, 24-years-old, the futures not bright for him. One more thing. You see him eating right hands?
“Did you see him getting hit with right hand after right hand? Now a smart intelligent seasoned fighter will see that and will take advantage of that.
“Edgar’s inside game is not that great either. His mid-range game is good, but his inside game, you tie him up, he doesn’t know what to do.
“There are son many things I could share with y’all, but I’m going to leave it at that because I’m not his trainer.
“I’d be willing to step in and help. If any fighter wants to talk, get in contact with me.
“If you’re important enough, get it from ESPN, Top Rank, or anybody. I don’t give my number out to just anybody.”
For his part, Berlanga blamed his lacklustre performance on his opponent.
“You could tell that he was fighting scared. Every time I reach in or throw something, he’d pull back and was running the whole fight,” he said.
“I was looking for the big shot. My corner was telling me to use the jab. I’m just happy we got the victory and I’m moving forward.
“He was a scared fighter. It’s tough to land your shots when he’s scared, especially moving back. When he fought GGG, he brought it to GGG. With me, he tried to use that running tactic.”
Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum added, “Edgar Berlanga fought a tough, defensive fighter, and he got some valuable rounds in tonight. As you saw from the sold-out crowd, the kid is a star. There are many more big nights to come.”
According to CompuBox, Rolls outpunched Berlanga 447 to 314 and outlanded him 123 to 120.
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