Edgar Berlanga bounced back in impressive fashion on Sunday night, headlining Zuffa Boxing 9 with a dominant performance against Steven Butler at the Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The card also featured unbeaten Richardson Hitchins, rising prospect Jalil Hackett, and a dramatic heavyweight finish between Vladyslav Sirenko and Otto Wallin.
Berlanga controlled the action from the opening bell, dropping Butler in the second round before continuing to break the Canadian down with steady pressure. After scoring another knockdown late in the sixth, Berlanga forced the referee to stop the fight at 1:14 of Round 7, improving to 24-2 (19 KOs). Butler falls to 38-6-1 (32 KOs).
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In the co-main event, Richardson Hitchins delivered a flawless performance, shutting out Ricardo Salas by unanimous decision with identical scores of 100-90 to improve to 21-0 (8 KOs). Earlier on the main card, Jalil Hackett outboxed former world title challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko, earning a unanimous decision by scores of 98-92, 97-93, and 96-94.
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The prelims were highlighted by Vladyslav Sirenko, who scored a dramatic knockout over Otto Wallin with one second remaining in the 10th and final round. Emiliano Moreno defeated Arnold Gonzalez by unanimous decision, Kashaun Davis remained unbeaten with a decision over Mihai Nistor, Troy Nash edged Ethan Perez by majority decision, and Andres Sosa opened the event with a unanimous decision victory over Dominique Francis.
Image Credit: The Ring