Edgar Berlanga added another knockout to his record as he bounced back from his only defeat to Canelo Alvarez.
Edgar Berlanga fought Canelo in 2024, and, though he was dropped and lost a wide decision, Berlanga has spoken highly of his ability to go the distance with the pound-for-pound elite.
The Puerto Rican’s comeback fight came against 20-0-1 Jonathon Gonzalez-Ortiz, who Berlanga stopped in the opening round.
The super-middleweight has since compared himself to Mike Tyson, noting that he has one thing Tyson does not.
“I am the hardest puncher in boxing history”… Edgar Berlanga shares incredible comparison to Mike Tyson
In a post on Instagram, Berlanga revealed that he has more first-round knockouts than the legendary Tyson, and as such, declared himself the hardest puncher in boxing history.
Berlanga has 18 knockouts to his 23 wins, and 17 of those have come in the first round.
Berlanga’s first 16 fights all ended by first-round stoppage, but many are quick to point out the level of opposition, with the victims of Berlanga’s opening-round stoppages having a combined record of
195–67-16.
However, the claim itself isn’t even true, as Tyson had 24 first-round knockouts throughout his career. One was ruled a No-Contest and another a disqualification of his opponent, but even with those discounted Berlanga is five stoppages short of Tyson’s accolade.
Tyson once knocked out Joe Cortez in 8 seconds when he was 15-years-old.
One fan commented on Berlanga’s false claim: “Canelo punched him too hard”
Edgar Berlanga does have one thing in common with Mike Tyson
In 2022 Berlanga faced Alexis Angulo, who he beat by unanimous decision. The fight was fraught with controversy, though, as Berlanga was seen biting Angulo during the fight.
This is, of course, similar to when Tyson bit Evander Holyfield, and was disqualified by referee Mills Lane, who was also a TV judge and a boxer himself.
Berlanga spoke after the fight on the incident, and said: “Mike Tyson style, I got a little carried away.”
He was suspended and fined for his illegal foul, before returning under Eddie Hearn‘s Matchroom banner to face Jason Quigley, Padraig McCrory, and then Canelo, who recently punched Mexican influencer Pablo Chavira.