Edgar Berlanga took the boxing world by storm, as he mastered the art of securing first-round knockouts. His heavy-handed punches and his explosiveness made the viewers sit tight with their eyes on the clock and with the anticipation of whether the fight would go the distance. It didn’t happen till the 17th fight. Apart from the American fighter’s aggressive style and his penchant for knockouts, his relationship with Top Rank aided him in this dismantling job. After all, it was the promotion that hand-picked his opponents. And it worked until they hit a snag.

Soon the knockouts dried up, and after going the distance four times in a row and with an unblemished record of 20-0, the time was for the review of their relationship. But negotiations stretched longer without any fruitful outcome. So, what exactly happened?

Berlanga, 27, discussed what made him part ways with Top Rank when he sat down with Andre Ward at All Fight Smoke. Notably, Top Rank had promoted him for 11 fights, with 7 coming at middleweight and then the last four, which went the distance, at 168. The last of their contracted fights came against Roamer Alexis Angulo, who had challenged for the 168-pound division crown twice. But instead of extending their contract after lengthy negotiations, they decided to part ways.

Edgar Berlanga’s split with Bob Arum’s Top Rank

According to the 22-0 record holder, his team wanted to go in a certain direction with their future fights and opponents, and Top Rank didn’t share the same vision. He said, “We wanted to go a certain direction. They didn’t want to go that direction. They wanted to go the opposite, and it was like several meetings back to back, back to back.”

Eventually, they failed to resolve their difference, which made Berlanga realize their broken relationship. He continued, “The same fights, the same fights about where we want to go. That’s when I don’t think the relationship is there no more. Like what y’all want, we don’t want, and what we want, y’all don’t want, so.”

What made the Brooklyn native switch was his desire to face tougher competition and rise higher in the division’s chain. But Top Rank wanted to pit him against similar opponents like Angulo, which might have hindered his rapid surge. In addition, there was a payout difference, as Berlanga’s reputation had grown multi-fold after joining Top Rank.

The orthodox boxer declared, “Stiffer competition and obviously get more money, you know. That’s why we in the game, right? For legacy. I didn’t want to keep fighting guys like on that Angulo level, and they wanted it that way for the next four or five fights. And we didn’t like it.”

The reports of their splits seized headlines in January last year and within a month, he had found a new home, Matchroom Boxing. Eddie Hearn presented a detailed plan and a flexible approach, which perfectly fit both parties’ interests. But the biggest factor was a fight with Canelo Alvarez.

Eddie Hearn, the Matchroom pull, and the Canelo factor

When Hearn, 45, sat down on the negotiation table with Berlanga, the promoter agreed with the vision that Berlanga’s team had envisioned for the coming 2-3 years. The important element of their contract was a fight with Alvarez, 34, down the line. Either that included a two-fight scheme to pull the champion’s attention or, if possible, then one could also do. And the Matchroom Boxing matched it.

‘The Chosen One’ recalled, “We told him this is the plan we have. We want to fight two fights and fight Canelo or fight one fight and fight Canelo and he was like, ‘Let’s do it’. We told him the numbers, and he said, ‘Cool’.”

Interestingly, the contract also included a clause where Berlanga’s camp could negotiate for the Alvarez fight even if the Mexican champion was not part of the same stable. He only needed the British promoter’s consent to make the fight happen. That’s what they did to bag the Alvarez fight. The decision to sign with Matchroom worked in his favor.

What do you make of Top Rank’s relationship with Edgar Berlanga? Do you believe the boxer made the right call at a critical juncture? Let us know in the comments below.