Edgar Berlanga won a unanimous decision over Roamer Alexis Angulo on Saturday night, in what was supposed to be a big and positive night for his career.
Unfortunately, Berlanga hasn’t done anything to sway the fading buzz back in his favor. After how he began his career, the fading hype was unavoidable, but it appears to be worsening fight by fight.
Edgar Berlanga almost bites Alexis Angulo’s ear during fight
This was Berlanga’s first main event on New York’s Puerto Rican Day Parade weekend, which Miguel Cotto made a memorable event in boxing’s last generation, and which Berlanga said he took seriously and considered an honor in pre-fight interviews.
He was seen on numerous slow motion replays attempting to bite Angulo in the seventh round, which he joked about after the fight.
The bite itself, as well as Berlanga’s demeanor when asked about it by ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna, has clearly overshadowed his performance.
“Nah, ’cause he was throwing elbows. I was about to do a Mike Tyson on him. He kept throwing his elbows and I didn’t want to get cut, I was ready to bite him like Mike Tyson,” Berlanga said with a laugh.
“You almost got disqualified,” Osuna said quickly before moving on to the next question.
Backlash from the bite attempt
As one might expect, the backlash spread to other boxing voices and social media. Berlanga has yet to respond to the bite on social media.
Mark Kriegel, an ESPN journalist and interviewer, took issue with Berlanga’s tone on the “State of Boxing” post-fight show.
“I thought it was terrible! I really did. It’s not a goof. You don’t bite another fighter,” Kriegel said. “He came here to be remembered in the same way of the great Miguel Cotto, who’s put together an extraodinary record on this weekend. You don’t bite another fighter, it’s not a goof.”
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