Boxing

Edgar Berlanga Ready For A Bloodbath vs Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz

Edgar Berlanga makes his return to the ring on Saturday in Orlando, FL.

Nathaniel Marrero

IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

The path to bigger and better things for Edgar Berlanga goes through Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz.

Berlanga faces Gonzalez-Ortiz on Saturday at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, FL, in a 10-round bout for the WBO NABO super middleweight title in the co-feature of Austin "Ammo" Williams.

The matchup pits Berlanga against a fellow Puerto Rican, and "The Chosen One" is looking to perform like one of the bigger stars in the sport before landing a big fight the next time he steps in the ring.

"I just have to go out there and shine like a star, go out there and handle business," Berlanga said. "Perform like a superstar and get those big fights. I’m not overlooking this man; he's coming to win. He’s Puerto Rican, and he has that Puerto Rican blood in him. So, I know he’s coming to fight.  I know he’s not going to run around the ring trying to survive. He’s gonna go out there and try to prove a point. So, I just wanted everybody to know that it’s going to be a bloodbath."

Saturday will mark the first time Berlanga steps into the ring since suffering the first defeat of his career, a unanimous decision loss to Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. Berlanga gave a valiant effort, overcoming a third-round knockdown to push Canelo in the later rounds.

Berlanga is looking to build off of his spirited effort and has three names in mind for the rest of 2025: Jermall Charlo, Jaime Munguia and Caleb Plant. All three are former champions who fit the bill of a big fight at super middleweight.

First, though, Berlanga has to get back into the win column against game Gonzalez-Ortiz (20-0-1, 16 KOs), who has won his two fights since his return after a nearly 10-year hiatus from the sport. Berlanga is ready to go toe-to-toe for however long the fight lasts, though, this time he envisions getting his hand raised rather than receiving praise for how he performed in a loss.

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"I went 12 rounds, toe-to-toe with Canelo," Berlanga said. "No running, no grabbing, no holding, no nothing. I stood right in his face and we went at it for 12 rounds. So I’m looking for the same outcome or something different on Saturday because we’re winning."

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Nathaniel Marrero
NATHANIEL MARRERO

Nathaniel Marrero is a writer for the Boxing, Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Ravens On SI sites. He's also written for the Orlando Sentinel and MLB.com, and was a part of UCF's sports show, Hitting The Field. He attended UCF and graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism in 2023. Twitter/X: Nate_Marrero