Edgar Berlanga: Put up or shut up time ahead of Ring III main event

One takes a look at Edgar Berlanga's record of 23-1 with 18 wins by knockout, including 17 of those in the first round, and you would go, "Holy cow, I bet he's either a former or current world champion". But that isn't the case as Berlanga headlines Saturday's Ring III event against Hamzah Sheeraz (21-0-1, 17 KOs) from Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, N.Y., live on DAZN PPV.

Before Thursday's press conference began, DAZN analyst Chris Mannix said something that really stuck out when previewing Saturday's main event, in particular about Berlanga.

"Acts like a star. Talks like a star. We need to find out if he is a star," Mannix said. "He has gotten a lot of traction, a lot of mileage out of the 12-round lopsided decision to Canelo Alvarez. Not knocking him for the performance. He went the distance against the best guy at 168. He performed a lot better than other people thought he was going to perform."

The 28-year-old checks every list to be a major star in boxing. He's good-looking, talks well, and most importantly in the sport of boxing, he knocks people out. That should be enough to vault him into the next stratosphere. But it hasn't. Why?

It's quite simple, actually. He's never beaten a former or current titleholder and has beaten nothing higher than B-level opposition. When your best win is over Jason Quigley, that isn't saying too much in the slightest bit. Yes, he got up off the deck and went the distance with Canelo. He won some rounds and did look good down the stretch. Berlanga got a get-back win at the end of March, wiping out Jonathan Gonzalez Ortiz.

"But we don't know what he looks like against top competition," Mannix also said at the presser. "This is going to be that type of fight."

"Look at Hamzah Sheeraz standing there. That guy was 160 pounds just one fight earlier. He is massive. He's shown the ability to be a big puncher. He has the pedigree to be an excellent boxer.

🗣️ 'This is the fight where we find out if @EdgarBerlangaJr has the substance to match the style'

Before his draw with current WBC Middleweight Champion Carlos Adames in February, the 6' 3" Sheeraz had been on a 15-fight knockout streak. While he wasn't his usual self five months ago, it was due to a broken hand. Now, with the addition of famed trainer Andy Lee and fully healthy, Sheeraz is ready to show why he's still perhaps the next big star in British boxing. 

"This really is the fight that we find out if Edgar Berlanga has some substance to back up his style," Mannix said in the video. 

The 26-year-old Sheeraz has the pedigree and the tailor-made style for Berlanga to shine and let the boxing universe know he's for real and a legit star. If not, Berlanga will be known as another guy who faced tomato cans early in his career and smashed them as expected, but when the going got tough, he crumbled like a cookie. 

Watch the Ring III live from New York exclusively on DAZN PPV, Saturday, July 12. Buy the PPV now here.