Via Dan Ambrose: Edgar Berlanga is expected to be suspended by the New York State Athletic Commission this Friday for attempting to bite super-middleweight rival Alexis Angulo last Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.
ESPN is reporting on Berlanga’s potential suspension for his game against 38-year-old Angulo (27-3, 23 KOs).
There’s no word on how long the suspension will last for 25-year-old Berlanga, but it will take more than four months for it to have any real impact.
With Berlanga fighting twice a year on average, the suspension won’t do much, as he has already fought twice in 2022.
Berlanga won the match by unanimous decision of 10 innings with the following total points: 98-92, 99-91, and 99-91. However, many fans thought that Angulo deserved to win and if not a win it was also a draw.
The scores given by the three judges seemed a far cry from that night’s fight. Berlanga is the A fighter, competing in his backyard in New York, while the Colombian Angulo is the away and B side.
Surprisingly, Berlanga was not penalized by the referee for attempting to bite someone in the seventh round, something some boxing fans couldn’t understand. Berlanga later said the elbow hit him, leading to the incident in the seventh game.
“A member of the New York State Athletic Commission, who requested anonymity to speak on the matter because there is no official decision yet, confirmed to ESPN that the matter is under review. Mike Coppinger’s ESPN.
“I want to apologize for my actions and what I said yesterday about Mike Tyson’s bite,” Berlanga.
It was not a good performance by Berlanga, as he struggled with pressure and strength from the more experienced Angulo.
After the worst bout of the first quarter of the fight, Berlanga was forced to get on his bike and box for the remaining six innings to claim victory, and it wasn’t a particularly exciting fight.
“I was surprised. It was a moment of frustration, and something made him do it,” coach Andre Rozier told Fighthype of Berlanga’s attempt to bite Angulo in the seventh inning.
“That’s something that could get him out. You don’t make that mistake. It’s nothing to take lightly and joke about. In fact, if I were in his corner, I’ll throw him on his head and told him, “Never do that again,” Rozier continued about Berlanga.
“I can only liken it to a moment of disappointment, and hopefully, he never does it again. I’m waiting for the day when he uses his great shot as he has, but he certainly showed in the means needed for the opponents he faced,” said Rozier of Berlanga.
