Tag Archives: Demond Nicholson

David Benavidez Finalizing Deal for Super Middleweight Bout vs. Demetrius Andrade

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David Benavidez is thisclose to heading back to the ring…

David BenavidezThe 26-year-old Mexican-Ecuadorian-Dominican American professional boxer, a two-time WBC super middleweight champion, is finalizing a deal to fight Demetrius Andrade in a super middleweight bout this fall in Las Vegas.

The battle of former champions will be a pay-per-view event, according to ESPN sources.

Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) scored a career-best win in March, a unanimous-decision victory over Caleb Plant. Fighting out of Seattle, he’s ESPN‘s No. 2 super middleweight after undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez.

Benavidez lost his belt outside the ring on both occasions (positive test for cocaine before he later missed weight).

The volume puncher, known as “The Mexican Monster,” is hoping for a showdown with Alvarez next year. But first, Benavidez will face a slick boxer for the second consecutive fight when he meets Andrade.

A former champion at 154 and 160 pounds, Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) will finally land the big fight he’s sought at age 35. Long avoided for his defensive prowess and boxing skills, Andrade moved up to 168 pounds in January with a shutout decision win over journeyman Demond Nicholson.

Andrade, a Providence, R.I., native, has never faced an elite opponent. He’ll step up in class when he meets Benavidez in a matchup that could propel the winner to a showdown with Alvarez.

Andrade is ESPN’s No. 8 super middleweight.

Edgar Berlanga to Fight Steve Rolls in Super Middleweight Bout This March

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Edgar Berlanga is heading back to the ring this Spring…

The 24-year-old Puerto Rican professional boxer has agreed to terms for a super middleweight fight against Steve Rolls on March 19 at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, according to ESPN.

Edgar Berlanga

The bout will be Berlanga’s first since he tore his left biceps in Round 3 of his victory over Marcelo Esteban Coceres in October. Berlanga (18-0, 16 KOs) struggled at times in the fight and was even floored in Round 9, the first knockdown of his career.

Following surgery, the 24-year-old rehabbed at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas in preparation for his first headline bout on ESPN. Berlanga, a native of Brooklyn, New York, scored 16 first-round KOs in his first 16 fights.

His April decision win over Demond Nicholson, a fight in which he scored four knockdowns, was the first time he was extended past the opening round.

Before the injury, the bout with Rolls had been eyed as the December 11 co-feature to the Vasiliy Lomachenko–Richard Commey fight.

Rolls (21-1, 12 KOs), a 37-year-old Canadian, is best known for his fourth-round KO loss to Gennadiy Golovkin in 2019. He has competed just twice since then, both wins inside the distance.

Edgar Berlanga Agrees to Two-Fight Plan with Top Rank Boxing

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Edgar Berlanga is ready to rumble… twice.

The 24-year-old Puerto Rican boxer has agreed to terms on a two-fight plan with Top Rank.

Edgar Berlanga

The first bout comes October 9 in Las Vegas against Marcelo Esteban Coceres, Berlanga said, in the main event of a Top Rank Boxing show on an ESPN platform that will lead into the Tyson Fury–Deontay Wilder III fight on pay-per-view.

Berlanga’s second fight is December 11, the co-feature to Vasiliy Lomachenko‘s return in New York at Madison Square Garden. An opponent has yet to be finalized for that bout. The power-punching super middleweight Berlanga is in the midst of a multiyear deal with Top Rank. Financial terms were finalized for both of his upcoming fights.

“I’m knocking these guys in October and December; we’re not going to the scorecards,” said Berlanga (17-0, 16 KOs). “I want to let the world know after these two fights that I’m the guy they need to worry about.”

Berlanga was extended the distance for the first time in his last bout, an April win over Demond Nicholson. It was the first time Berlanga heard the bell to signal the start of Round 2 in his pro career. He scored first-round knockouts in each of his first 16 fights.

Berlanga dropped Nicholson three times but settled for the unanimous-decision victory. The Brooklynite will now face another durable opponent in Coceres (30-2-1, 16 KOs). The 30-year-old Argentine is best known for an 11th-round KO loss to Billy Joe Saunders in a 2019 title fight. That was his only fight outside of Argentina.

In January, Coceres lost again, this time a split-decision defeat to Sebastian Horacio Papeschi in Argentina. He rebounded with a second-round stoppage win in June over Nelson Nicolas Rosalez.

The two-fight plan promises to give Berlanga his greatest exposure yet as he inches closer to title contention. Despite 17 pro fights, he remains inexperienced with just 24 rounds in the professional ranks.

If all goes according to plan, Berlanga will return in March to Puerto Rico (the country his family hails from) before headlining at Madison Square Garden in June on Puerto Rican Parade Day weekend.

Edgar Berlanga’s First-Round KO Streak Ends, But He Still Scores Win Against Demond Nicholson

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Edgar Berlanga’s impressive streak is over, but his undefeated record is still intact…

The 23-year-old didn’t finish his opponent in the first three minutes during his bout on Friday night, ending his streak of first-round knockouts.

Edgar Berlanga,

But Berlanga still defeated Demond Nicholson.

Berlanga (17-0, 16 KOs) knocked Nicholson down four times — including one in the final seconds of the fight — but couldn’t get a stoppage in a 79-68, 79-69, 79-69 unanimous decision victory at the Silver Spurs Arena on Kissimmee, Florida, on Saturday.

“It’s kind of f—ed up that I had to go those rounds with the people here,” Berlanga said in his postfight interview on ESPN. “I know that they wanted a first-round knockout. But I enjoyed getting the experience.”

Entering his bout on the Emanuel Navarrete–Christopher Diaz undercard, Berlanga had knocked out all 16 of his previous opponents in the first round. Nicholson (23-4-1, 20 KOs), 28, of Laurel, Maryland, became the first to make it back to his corner.

Nicholson met Berlanga’s power early after knockdowns in the second and third round, albeit the latter occurrence a questionable ruling by referee Emil Lombardi. But the veteran Nicholson steadied himself beneath his wide stance and even found success at times against Berlanga.

Berlanga capped his performance with a short right hook that floored Nicholson with 13 seconds left in the fight, the punch easily being his hardest of the night. Nicholson wobbled on his feet as he made the count but was steady enough for the ref to allow Nicholson to make it to the final bell.

“I wanted to get him out,” Berlanga said. “But I didn’t. But listen, I got the experience.”