A Valuable Learning Lesson For Edgar Berlanga While Suffering an Injury
On the undercard of the Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder trilogy, hard-hitting prospect Edgar Berlanga (18-0, 16 KOs) survived the toughest test of his career as he defeated former super middleweight world title challenger Marcelo Esteban Coceres ( 30-3-1, 16 KOs) by unanimous decision.
While Berlanga won, he struggled during portions of the fight and faced his fair share of adversity. In round 8, he suffered the first knockdown of his career. The 24 year-old was able to land some hard shots yet was unable to hurt his opponent seriously.
For fans used to watching fighters succumb under the weight of Berlanga’s punches, it must have been surprising that Coceres was able to go the distance. Fighting someone who was a step up in class, are we discovering the Brooklyn born Puerto Rican is not the puncher he was hyped up to be?
FIGHTING THROUGH ADVERSITY
An answer may be due to an injury that he suffered during the fight. According to ESPN, Berlanga injured his left arm in the third round. That injury turned out to be a torn left bicep. It certainly gives a idea into why the contest may have gone the distance. However, if folks want to use that as the sole reason, it takes away from what Coceres was able to do.
Though he lost, the fighter from Argentina is competent and experienced. He is no fool, and it made no sense to have a slugfest. Therefore, he kept the fight at a distance, not giving Berlanga a chance to land with consistency. When he was tagged, Coceres showed a solid beard and stood up to the power.
BUMPS ALONG THE ROAD
In the development of a young and talented fighter, they must go through a trial by fire. You have to deal with some hardship as a means to test yourself and prove your mettle.
Berlanga should face it now and learn rather than getting exposed later. His experience against Coceres is what most good/great fighters go through during their early development. In short, this is part of the game.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
