Via Huck Allen: Tim Bradley was shocked at what undefeated super-middleweight opponent Edgar Berlanga (19-0, 16 KOs) looked like last Saturday night in his flawed performance against Steve Rolls (21- 2, 12 KOs) at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Berlanga won a unanimous decision in 10 questions against the 37-year-old Rolls, who was stopped for four rounds by the smaller Gennadiy Golovkin.
It’s surprising that Berlanga, 24, couldn’t get Rolls out there in the same way as GGG, since he’s younger and bigger than he is.
The judges scored 96-94, 97-93 and 97-93. On social media, overwhelming boxing fans think Rolls has done enough to deserve the victory.
Berlanga was moving slowly forward, taking shots with everything on him, but missing most of the time and taking stabs from Rolls.
Bradley says Berlanga doesn’t have it
Tim Bradley told Against TV Hub when asked if Edgar Berlanga is a commodity. “I want to give you some context behind that.
“He is still young. Should I delete him? “Bradley continues on to Berlanga. “No, but from what I see from my experience, I will tell you this. He tore the net, 16-0. It was the worst thing that could happen to his career.
“The reason why is because he didn’t have the opportunity to grow and develop. Maybe I should give him time to mature and develop, but he’s a six-year pro.
“How long does it take to reach that top level?” Bradley talks about Berlanga. “He is 6th in the WBO rankings. Get ready for championship level for one of those top dogs.
“He’s reached almost 20 games, and it’s not about the knockouts. I could care less about that. It’s about how he operates inside that ring. It’s about how he operates tactically.
“For example, he throws the javelin at the same speed, the same speed. He didn’t even change level with that stab. There are little things that you can do that you ought to know but he doesn’t.
“It could be because he took everyone down. Now he’s enamored with his punching power,” Bradley said.
Edgar has slow legs
He is moving forward and he is slow. The first thing I had to do was, ‘Hey, we need your legs.
“We have to get your feet right because your foundation is the most important thing inside that ring, your foundation, your feet. You have to be quick. I will train you as if you had no punching power.
“I will help you get up, move and change things because that is what he needs. He needed to find a way to disguise his power. Why are you leading with the left hook? Why?
“I don’t think he was a victim of bad matchmaking. The guys they put in front of him were never stopped. There were a handful of guys who had never stopped before, and he had found a way to get rid of them. He wrapped them up.
“This time, he was fighting against an engine. You knew you were fighting against an engine, and you followed him around the ring. Come on, buddy. You have been learning how to cut rings since you were an amateur.
“You learned to cut off the ring as a child. He was following this man [Rolls] around the ring, never cornering him, never confining him to ropes like you should,” Bradley said.
Berlanga must change
“I am not saying this is disrespectful. I have nothing but love for Edgar, but if he wants to be the star he said he wanted to be as a Puerto Rican guy, he’s going to have to change a lot,” Bradley said.
“It all boils down to him because it looks like he has a good team around him. He has a great team around him that care about him, and they have young warriors around him trying to help him and groom him to improve his skills.
“Jared Anderson put his hands on his head and said, ‘What’s going on? Who is that guy? I don’t know who that guy is,” Bradley said.
