Edgar Berlanga Adds 16th Straight First Round KO; Drops Ulises Sierra 3 Times
Dynamic-punching Edgar Berlanga stopped Ulises Sierra with 20 seconds to go in Round 1 to extend his first-round knockout streak to 16
LAS VEGAS (December 12, 2020) — Undefeated slugger Edgar Berlanga, a 23-year old from Brooklyn, New York, extended his first round knockout streak to 16 fights with a three-knockdown technical knockout of Ulises Sierra. The bout served as the ESPN opener for Top Rank’s final show from its Bubble inside the MGM Grand Conference Center.
Berlanga (16-0, 16 KOs) started unleashing powerful punches from outside almost immediately in Round 1. In contrast, Sierra (15-2-2, 9 KOs) attempted box, move and settle into the fight. Sierra, a 6-foot 1-inch 31-year old from San Diego, California had never been stopped.
A trip to the second round seemed possible, but a short Berlanga combination around 2:15 appeared to affect Sierra. Berlanga picked up on the slight wobble and continued with throwing vicious hooks. His thudding shots started reddening Ulises’ face, his body language changed and San Diegan went down 1:38 from a barrage of head shots.
Ulises got up to fight on but Berlanga’s pressure only intensified. The 23-year old crashed the veteran with a series of crushing blows that drove Sierra through the upper ropes. Referee Russell Mora stopped the action stopped at 1:10 to administer a count based on a technical knockdown, as the ropes kept Sierra upright.
Sierra survived until about the :22 mark when a left hand around the guard put the veteran down for a third and final time.
Berlanga picked up his 16th victory, with as many knockouts, and will undoubtedly move into 2021 as one of the hottest fighters in boxing under 25 years of age. The power puncher finished the fight nearly untouched, but he was credited for landing around 50 percent of his 56 power punches thrown. Trainer Kay Koroma served as chief second to Berlanga, as a replacement to trainer Andre Rozier who tested positive for COVID-19.
All photos by Mikey Williams/Top Rank via Getty Images
