What to Know
- In Sunday’s Zuffa Boxing 09 main event, Edgar Berlanga delivered the highlight performance he hoped for in an all-action fight, stopping Steven Butler in seven rounds.
- Richardson Hitchins breezed to a shutout win in his first fight in the welterweight division.
- Ukrainian heavyweight Vladyslav Sirenko flattened world title challenger Otto Wallin with just seconds left in their ten-round fight for the TKO win.
Edgar Berlanga Delights NYC Fans With Bounce Back Effort
Zuffa Boxing and Dana White are feeling good about their decision to sign Edgar Berlanga and Richardson Hitchins after their debuts at Zuffa Boxing 09 Sunday at the Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden.
After a year out of the ring, super middleweight Berlanga of New York (23-2, 18 KOs) got the bounce-back win he needed in his Zuffa debut, stopping Steven “Bang Bang” Butler of Montreal (38-5-1, 32 KOs) in an exciting seven rounds in the main event.
After losses to Canelo Alvarez and Hamzah Sheeraz, Berlanga took time off before his successful return on Sunday.
“It’s a learning experience every time,” said Berlanga. “We fought a dangerous fighter, big knockout puncher. You know that’s what I wanted to bring back to the city, just to prove myself and show people I’m back.” Later, Berlanga called it an amazing feeling doing it in front of his New York fans.
After a cautious first round, Butler drew blood first with a knockdown at the end of round two, a punch that deflected onto Berlanga’s temple and dropped him. Berlanga took the count and walked to his corner. Berlanga characterized it as a flash knockdown that didn’t hurt him. “It’s boxing, it happens.”
Knockdown Lights Up Berlanga
It lit a fire in him, and he came roaring at Butler at the sound of the bell. For the next five rounds, Berlanga took it to Butler, using a nice variety of power shots. The Canadian weathered them well. In the third round, he wobbled several times, but the veteran used his skills of self-preservation in the ring to avoid an early end.
HOW ARE THEY STILL STANDING ⁉️
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Berlanga paced himself and Butler gathered his wits, recovering just enough to pop Berlanga at the end of the fourth round. “You’re back in it,” said Butler’s trainer, “Iceman” John Scully, after the round. “Stay off the ropes, stay out of the corner.”
Butler wasn’t 100 percent, and he took some serious hits as Berlanga nailed him in the fifth round with a head-snapping straight right hand. Butler has a good chin, and once again he survived. “Hands up and stay low!” Scully told Butler in the corner.
In round six, Berlanga peppered Butler with the jab. Butler stayed lively, showing Berlanga he was still in the fight. Berlanga unloaded at the end of the round, landing a clean left hook, forcing Butler to step back and take a knee. Referee Eric Dali followed Butler back to his corner, warning Scully he would give Butler 60 seconds to make something happen or he would stop the fight.
Butler Willing To Go Out On His Shield
Could Butler rally? Berlanga kept after Butler with stiff jabs, trying to prevent him from recovering. Berlanga landed three hard left hooks in succession, and Dali stepped in to save Butler and stop the fight, both men falling to the canvas. Berlanga stood over them both with all his pre-fight animosity still on display. Time of the stoppage was 1:14 of round seven.
“A wounded animal is dangerous,” said Berlanga of his approach to Butler. “Everybody should know that. I watched his past videos. Even when he got stopped, he was always aware. He was always alert.”
After thanking his fans in both English and Spanish, Berlanga called out a mix of names including Hamzah Sheeraz, Jaime Munguia, Caleb Plant (“if he’s still around,” said Butler), and Jermall Charlo. Given the lackluster performance by Sheeraz on Saturday, there’s little in a rematch for him but it would be an intriguing fight.
Richardson Hitchins Shines at Welterweight
In the co-main event, Richardson Hitchins of Brooklyn (21-0, 8 KOs) smoked Ricardo Salas of Mexico City (24-3-2, 18 KOs), looking comfortable and sharp as a tack in his first official fight in the welterweight division. Scores reflected his dominance – a shutout with three 100-90 scorecards.
Hitchins before the fight he felt stronger, sharper, and overall great moving up from 140 pounds. He looked every bit of it. The energy and conditioning he previously had to expend making weight was instead on display in the ring, showing why he’s considered one of the best pure boxers in the sport.
“That’s what you call beautiful boxing. The guy was tough. This was a fight the fans said I didn’t want to take; they said I didn’t want to fight against a pressure type of Mexican … I did what I had to do, so onto the next.”
Hitchins said he hurt his right hand in the sixth round and decided to keep boxing smart for a dominant victory rather than risk injuring himself further by trying to take Salas out.
It was a solid debut, but now Hitchins will need to add the entertainment value by testing himself against more challenging opposition. He didn’t hesitate to name names. “Give me Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, any of those guys … come get it if you want it!”
Jalil Hackett Passes the Test From Sergiy Derevyanchenko
Veteran Sergiy Derevyanchenko of Ukraine has delivered many terrific fights, including a Fight of the Year against Jaime Munguia three years ago, as well as solid challenges against Daniel Jacobs, Gennadiy Golovkin, and Jermall Charlo.
But the 40-year-old Ukrainian finally ran up against an opponent with youthful drive on his side just as his own skills are not quite to the level they once were. Prospect Jalil Hackett of Washington, DC (13-1, 9 KOs) delivered a fine performance and passed the test presented by Derevyanchenko of Ukraine (16-7, 11 KOs), winning round after round and making smart adjustments along the way. Scores for Hackett were 98-92, 97-93, and 96-94.
Hackett more than held his own against an opponent who never yielded despite two bloody eyes in a solid step-up fight. Hackett’s father and trainer told him to box in the early rounds and be conservative until it was time to step things up.
“I was itching from the first round until he said ‘go hunting.’ He’s been doing this for a long time. Box, then go get him late,” said Hackett. Hackett said he had to adjust his defense as Derevyanchenko kept coming. Hackett said he didn’t feel himself fading as he has in some of his previous fights.
Hackett showed appreciation for his opponent, and that’s a good look. “If you’ve seen him fight before, you know that’s a game dog right there. Give him a round of applause for Sergiy, he’s a game guy. We all know Triple G is. We thought he beat Triple G, I know I did,” said Hackett.
Preliminary Card Highlights
Two fights stood out on the five-fight preliminary card.
🇺🇦 VLADYSLAV SIRENKO OUT OF NOWHERE 😵💫
HE KO’s WALLIN IN THE FINAL SECONDS ‼️#ZuffaBoxing09 | 📺 https://t.co/59YzXQz8h5 pic.twitter.com/Kuli2vEbTJ
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Just when it seemed the ten-round heavyweight fight between Otto Wallin and Vladyslav Sirenko would go to the scorecards in a fight with few highs and lows, Sirenko drilled Wallin with a three-punch combination ending in a vicious left hook, dropping Wallin to the canvas and out cold. Referee Eric Dali waved off the fight at 2:52 of round ten without a count.
Wallin, originally from Sweden and based in New York (28-4, 16 KOs) recovered enough to leave the ring under his own power. Sirenko of Ukraine (23-1, 20 KOs) held back from a celebration and rightfully so, but his numerous Ukrainian fans and others from his U.S. home base in Staten Island celebrated for him.
Watch for Sirenko to potentially get matched up with the winner of the second heavyweight fight on the undercard, Kashaun “Big Baby” Davis of Pearl, Mississippi (12-0, 11 KOs) who went the distance for the first time to beat Mihai “The Rock” Nistor of London (8-1, 8 KOs) by unanimous decision. Scores were 80-71, 80-71, and 79-72.
The other standout was an upset win for Andres Sosa of Argentina (19-4, 9 KOs), who handed Dominique Francis of Florida (16-1, 10 KOs) his first pro loss with an aggressive, never-say-die effort including a knockdown of Francis, and weathering a bloody cut over the right eye. Francis has been out of the ring nearly two years and while he fought well, it gave Sosa the edge.
Sosa and Sirenko were awarded the performance bonuses of the night for their efforts.
Welterweight Emiliano Moreno of Long Beach, California (13-1, 7 KOs) won a decision over Arnold Garcia of Harlem (18-2, 9 KOs) over eight rounds. Scores were 79-73, 78-74, 78-74.
Featherweight prospect Troy “The Bank” Nash of Colorado Springs (8-0-1, 1 KO) won his third Zuffa fight with a decision over Ethan Perez of San Antonio (8-1-1, 3 KOs) in his second Zuffa fight. Scores were 79-73, 79-73, and 76-76.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist with more than four dozen awards for both written and video coverage from the Boxing Writers Association of America, Society of Professional Journalists, and San Diego Press Club, where she is the past president. She is the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the BWAA. She is the Boxing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.
