Edgar Berlanga faces a daunting challenge, one that many believe to be nearly impossible. After all, he is going to fight one of the faces of boxing. For many fans, the outcome of the September 14 match seems predetermined. Nevertheless, full credit goes to Edgar Berlanga for reaching the stage where the eyes of the entire boxing world will be on him. In just eight years, where perhaps, barring the diehards, very few had little knowledge about him, Berlanga has managed to secure a fight with Canelo Alvarez, an achievement that has eluded some of boxing’s most well-known names.

The bout for Canelo Alvarez’s unified super middleweight titles will take place at the famed T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Edgar Berlanga enters the fight after the 6th round wrap-up of the Irishman Padraig McCrory in Florida. The win made him WBA’s mandatory challenger to then-interim title holder David Morrell. But the Cuban-born boxer’s subsequent move to 175 pounds led to ‘The Chosen One’ being declared the mandatory challenger to Canelo Alvarez. It’s a dream come true for him, and from the recent pressers, it is evident he is leaving no stone unturned to hype up—what is the biggest fight of his career so far.

Where is Edgar Berlanga from? Birthplace and nationality

Edgar Berlanga turned 27 years old on May 18 this year. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Berlanga took up boxing at age seven. Reportedly, he had a keen interest in baseball as well. It didn’t take much time before ‘The Chosen One’ started making a name for himself in the amateur circuits. From winning medals at the U.S. Youth Olympics, he went on to win silver medals at the Junior National and National PAL Junior championships.

On April 29, 2016, he made his professional debut, knocking out his opponent in the opening round. It is interesting to note that, considering that Berlanga dubbed the fixture with Canelo Alvarez a ‘Puerto Rico vs. Mexico’ rivalry, his first three professional bouts took place in Aguascalientes City, Mexico.

What is Edgar Berlanga’s ethnicity? 

Edgar Berlanga was born to Puerto Rican parents, who made the United States their home. The boxer has often expressed immense pride in his Puerto Rican heritage. The identity has been central to his persona from an early age. Whether through his boxing gear or participating in cultural events, ‘The Chosen One’ always made sure to proudly represent the place from where his folks came.

Speaking about his experience, in an interview with ‘Cosign Magazine’, he said that unlike many New York Puerto Ricans, who are often called ‘Nuyorican’, he felt fully embraced by the Puerto Rican community. “With me it was like it was open arms,” he said, adding further, “Like they just like said, ‘Yo, come. Yeah, you us.‘” When it comes to boxing, Berlanga has often cited two of the most famous boxers from Puerto Rico, Felix Trinidad and Miguel Cotto, as his major influences.

Of course, who can forget his close association with Joseph Antonio Cartagena, aka ‘Fat Joe’? The New York rapper, who is also of Puerto Rican descent, had previously joined Berlanga for ring instances.

What happened between Edgar Berlanga and Oscar De La Hoya?

Edgar Berlanga’s online spat with Oscar De La Hoya has become one of the highlights of the lead-up to the Alvarez fight. It was on April 20, 2019, fighting for the first time in New York’s Madison Square Garden, that Edgar Berlanga made his debut under the Top Rank banner. He fought Samir dos Santos Barbosa on the Terence Crawford–Amir Khan card. The relationship continued for the next ten fights. It finally came to an end with the 2022 fight against Roamer Alexis Angulo. Then Edgar Berlanga turned into a free agent.

Considering the fact that he was one of the top-tier prospects, he soon started attracting attention from big promotions. As it turned out eventually, ‘The Chosen One’ signed a multi-fight deal with Eddie Hearn‘s Matchroom Boxing. As it emerged, Hearn was not the only promoter who wanted Berlanga on the rolls. Oscar De La Hoya too had joined the party, hoping to pull ‘The Chosen One’ into the Golden Boy rolls. In fact, pictures of Berlanga and De La Hoya did quite a few rounds on social media.

However, as it appears now, things appear to have soured between the two. Noting his disagreement with Berlanga and labeling the September 14 fight as a ‘Mexico vs. Puerto Rico’ rivalry, in one of the episodes of his ‘Thursday Clap-Back’, De La Hoya said, “Edgar Berlanga… He claims he has [the] whole country [Puerto Rico] behind him. Edgar, bro, you are from Brooklyn. I think I am more Puerto Rican than you are, and I only lived there for six years. Puerto Rico doesn’t claim you, bro.”

Berlanga responded sharply, taunting how just a year ago, ‘The Golden Boy’ had approached him for joining Golden Boy Promotions. Following which, De La Hoya used the latest episode of his increasingly popular show for a rejoinder. With a few weeks remaining before the big fight, fans will be eager to see a response from Berlanga. They will be watching out for the next episode of the ‘Thursday Clap-Back’ as well.

Do you feel Edgar Berlanga has it in him to end Canelo Alvarez’s hegemony?