The bustling fight week in New York City, typically a stage for intense face-offs and measured pronouncements, recently became the backdrop for an unexpectedly theatrical confrontation.
At a pre-fight press conference intended to highlight upcoming bouts, the spotlight veered sharply from the boxers themselves to a surprising, and rather unconventional, display of animosity between undefeated super middleweight Edgar Berlanga Jr. and boxing legend turned promoter, Oscar De La Hoya.
What began as a routine media event quickly escalated into a spectacle bordering on performance art. Berlanga, known as “The Chosen One” in the ring, chose an unusually provocative method to express his disdain for De La Hoya. Departing from the usual verbal barbs, he launched a wig and, remarkably, women`s underwear towards the Golden Boy Promotions chief. This act was a clear, if audacious, reference to infamous tabloid photos of De La Hoya from years past, a jab designed not just to insult, but to thoroughly embarrass. Berlanga had evidently arrived with a clear agenda, having reportedly threatened physical violence against De La Hoya earlier in the week – a promise, perhaps ironically, left unfulfilled.
De La Hoya, a seasoned veteran of countless press conferences and ringside dramas, initially met the bizarre assault with a wry laugh. However, his composure quickly dissolved into a sharp counter-offensive. Eschewing the props, De La Hoya chose words as his weapons, hitting Berlanga where it mattered most in the boxing world: his professional credentials and, surprisingly, his heritage. “You have no world titles!” De La Hoya retorted, holding up his own imaginary belts. He then proceeded to question Berlanga`s Puerto Rican roots, declaring, “This guy is not even Puerto Rican! I’m more Puerto Rico than you! Your jewelry is as fake as your wins!” The exchange grew so heated that security personnel were forced to intervene, preventing the verbal sparring from escalating into a physical altercation.
This public fracas was not merely a spontaneous outburst but the culmination of simmering tensions. The animosity traces back to Berlanga’s highly anticipated fight against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. During the lead-up, De La Hoya, Canelo`s former promoter, had critically downplayed the value of Berlanga’s role in that bout, seemingly viewing him as mere “collateral damage” in a larger narrative involving his former star. Berlanga, clearly taking personal offense to being deemed an afterthought, carried that slight forward, waiting for an opportune moment to exact his peculiar form of revenge. Though Berlanga ultimately lost that fight to Alvarez by unanimous decision, the score, it seems, remained unsettled outside the ropes.
The irony of this theatrical diversion is that it unfolded just days before Berlanga is set to face Hamzah Sheeraz in a super middleweight main event. The same card also features a significant lightweight title challenge where De La Hoya’s fighter, William Zepeda, will take on Shakur Stevenson. This incident, while undeniably a distraction, also served as an undeniable amplification of the event’s profile. In the often-unpredictable world of boxing, where narratives are as crucial as knockouts, such unscripted dramas often blur the lines between sport and spectacle. They highlight that sometimes, the most memorable fights aren`t always confined to the ring, but rather explode in a flurry of words, wigs, and underwear, long before the first bell ever tolls. It`s a reminder that boxing, at its core, is as much about the show as it is about the punches, and the show must, indeed, go on.
