What to Know
- Zuffa Boxing 09 makes its New York City debut on Sunday, featuring several of its newly signed talents.
- Super middleweight Edgar Berlanga faces Steven Butler, which Richardson Hitchens akes his welterweight division debut.
- The main card airs on Paramount+ starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, with five prelim fights kicking off at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.
After a big boxing Saturday from Jeddah and Sydney, Zuffa Boxing 09 brings the action back to American shores in New York City on Sunday live from the Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden. The Zuffa three-bout main card airs live on Paramount+ starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, with five prelim fights starting at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.
Although the card won’t be competing with the World Cup or the return of college football and the NFL just yet, it might be boxing overload for some. But if you’re not into “Big Brother,” you’ve got an option.
Edgar Berlanga Makes Zuffa Debut
Several of Zuffa’s newer signees will be in action on this card, leading with the polarizing Edgar Berlanga (23-2, 18 KOs) making his Zuffa debut against Steven Butler of Montreal (38-5-1, 32 KOs) in the main event. Both fighters successfully made the contracted 169-pound weight limit Saturday, with Butler weighing in at 168.4 pounds and Berlanga at 168.6 pounds.
“I want the biggest fights and all the belts. Before that, I have to get past the obstacle standing in my way and take care of Steven Butler. On Sunday night at Madison Square Garden, you’ll see that I’m on another level,” said the Puerto Rican-born Berlanga.
“Berlanga has gone back to his old ways. He was respectful during our first faceoff, and now he’s back to acting like a gangster and clowning around. It doesn’t change anything for me. We’ll settle it on Sunday, and I’m going to make him eat his words,” said Butler this week.
Berlanga hopes to bounce back from his knockout loss to Hamza Sheeraz last summer, his second loss following a lopsided decision loss to Canelo Alvarez.
Butler comes into the bout on a four-fight, four-knockout streak since moving up to the super middleweight division. He wasn’t certain his power would carry up, but it has. It is just the fourth fight for Butler outside of Canada.
Richardson Hitchens Looking To Restore His Reputation
In the co-main event, Richardson Hitchens of Brooklyn (20-0, 8 KOs) makes both his Zuffa debut and his debut in the welterweight division after being unable to make weight and defend his super lightweight title against Oscar Duarte in May. Hitchens will face Ricardo Salas of Mexico City (24-2-2, 18 KOs).
Hitchens took a lot of heat for bowing out of his IBF title defense the morning of the fight, leaving Duarte high and dry when Hitchens struggled making weight and meeting the 24-hour rehydration limit, eventually bowing out due to illness.
Hitchens also admitted the barbs from Duarte, who infamously surprised everyone by speaking English, calling Hitchens a pussy and accused him of ducking, irritated him, and he wants to show there’s no basis for those insults. He’s happy with his decision to sign with Zuffa and move up.
“They want to put just their real effort into me, and it really wasn’t hard. I feel like Zuffa is the company that’s gonna take over boxing, so I want to be a part of that,” said Hitchens.
Hitchens said he feels much better moving up to welterweight. “I feel stronger, I feel sharper, and just overall great,” adding that he’s confident he will perform great now that he has the energy and conditioning in place without having to suck down to make weight.
Hitchens says he’ll show off the skills to prove he’s one of the best pure boxers in the sport. He wants to stay more active with Zuffa, unlike periods of long layoffs with past promoters.
” [I’m] just trying to get back in rhythm. That’s really what I’m looking to do, just a wake-up to the division that I am who I say I am. Richardson Hitchins is here at the welterweight division, and I will take over this whole division.”
Both Berlanga and Hitchens have to answer questions asked by the doubters about their long-term prospects.
After Berlanga launched his career with a 16-fight first-round knockout streak, he has struggled to find his footing and live up to his billing and his big mouth. But he remains a draw as a personality, and that’s a benefit to a new promoter like Zuffa Boxing.
Sergiy Derevyanchenko Keeps On Truckin’
Rounding out the main card is a middleweight fight between veteran Sergiy Derevyanchenko of Ukraine (16-6, 11 KOs) and prospect Jalil Hackett of Washington, DC (12-1, 9 KOs).
Derevyanchenko is a fan favorite, an all-action grinder who’s been in several Fight of the Year candidates, including a narrow loss to Jaime Munguia. All six of his losses have been razor-thin to top names including Daniel Jacobs, Gennadiy Golovkin, and Jermall Charlo. The only question with Derevyanchenko is whether, at age 40, he will feel the effects of the tough fights on his resume.
Hackett will measure his performance against those former champions to see whether he can deliver a big performance against someone who will test him.
Heavyweight Highlights On Prelim Card
The preliminary card presents five fights across heavyweight, welterweight, featherweight, and super featherweight.
Heavyweights lead the preliminary card. Otto Wallin, originally from Sweden and based in New York (28-3, 16 KOs), will have the crowd on his side against Vladislav Sirenko of Ukraine (22-1, 19 KOs).
With a win, Wallin hopes to book a potential fight with fellow Zuffa Boxing heavyweight contender Efe Ajagba. Sirenko is coming off a decision loss to Solomon Dacres on the Usyk vs Dubois undercard last July.
In a second heavyweight fight, Kashaun “Big Baby” Davis of Pearl, Mississippi (11-0, 11 KOs) faces Mihai “The Rock” Nistor of London (8-0, 8 KOs). Both will look to preserve their unbeaten record and 100% knockout win rate.
Welterweight Arnold Gonzalez of New York (18-1, 9 KOs) takes on Emiliano Moreno of Long Beach, California (12-1, 7 KOs) in a scheduled eight-round bout.
Featherweight prospect Troy “The Bank” Nash of Colorado Springs (7-0-1, 1 KO) returns for his third Zuffa fight against Ethan Perez of San Antonio (8-0-1, 3 KOs) in an all-American battle of 21-year-old talents.
Super featherweights open the card with undefeated Dominique Francis of Florida (16-0, 10 KOs) testing his perfect record against Andres Sosa of Argentina (18-4, 9 KOs). Francis has been out of the ring nearly two years.
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.
