Knockout puncher Edgar Berlanga talks about the birth of his KO power

Super middleweight boxer Edgar Berlanga is young, undefeated, and a perfect power puncher. He has stopped all of his 14 professional opponents by KO.

Boxing’s super middleweight division is packed with talent. Caleb Plant, David Benavidez, and Callum Smith run the division. However, their biggest threat might be power punching Edgar Berlanga who’s ascension is swift and dynamic.

Berlanga has ended all of his 14 professional bouts by first-round knockout. During his four-year professional career, Berlanga has only notched 14 rounds of experience because nobody has stood a chance against his destructive punching power.

In his last fight in July against Eric Moon, Berlanga pummeled Moon to the canvas with successive right hooks. Moon barely lasted a minute.

At 23 years old, Berlanga is still not in his physical prime, which is scary. He’s early into his pro career, and the difficulty level of his opposition is gradually growing stiffer, but you wouldn’t know it because his power is on a different level.

Berlanga gets another chance to show off his uncommonly heavy fists on Saturday, Oct. 17, on the undercard of Top Rank’s Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Teofimo Lopez lightweight title unification main event.

Berlanga’s next opponent is Lanell Bellows. Bellows (20-5-3,13 KOs), 34, of Las Vegas, Nevada, is on a two-fight winning streak and has been around. He has never been knocked out, and Berlanga is sure to put his chin’s durability to the test.

Berlanga hasn’t had to box much as a pro, but he had a successful amateur career during his teenage years, winning a youth national championship. FanSided spoke to Berlanga during a recent media conference about when he first realized that his power was special.

“My first pro fight, I remember it was in Mexico,” Berlanga recalled to FanSided. “I knocked the dude out so fast. I was like, ‘Holy crap.’ I was just lost. I walked back to the corner, and I just seen the ref waving it off. I was like, ‘Damn, so fast?’

“I didn’t really know. I was like, ‘do I really hit this hard?'”

As it turns out, yes. Berlanga really hits that hard.

He was only 18 years old when he first turned professional, but Berlanga’s power continued to amass. Soon, he started turning out people’s lights while sparring.

“Eventually, in sparring, I would knock guys out in sparring,” said Berlanga. “I was like, ‘Holy crap, I’m really hitting hard.’ And people would just tell me, ‘You’re only 18 years old. Just imagine when you hit 23, 24, 25, how when your man strength comes in it’s going to be ridiculous.'”

Just imagine. Berlanga is still growing physically and mentally as a boxer, but he’s well ahead of most prospects. He’s rated as the 47th best super middleweight by Boxrec.com and is quickly speeding up the charts.

In two or three years, the current division champions will have a major problem on their hands if Berlanga continues to exceed expectations. Bellows is next in line, but he won’t have a long night if Berlanga’s fight history follows its current trajectory.

You can watch Edgar Berlanga go for his 15th KO on the Lomachenko vs. Lopez undercard on Saturday, Oct. 17 on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+. Undercard coverage begins at 7:30 p.m ET, while Berlanga’s portion closer to the main event is anticipated at 10 p.m. ET.