Berlanga Defeats Butler by Seventh-Round TKO

Edgar Berlanga rebounded from an early knockdown to score a dramatic seventh-round technical knockout victory over Steven Butler in a super middleweight main event Sunday night at Madison Square Garden in New York. The win marked a significant comeback for Berlanga following a stoppage loss to Hamzah Sheeraz one year ago.

The fight, held at the Infosys Theater, saw Butler land a clean right hand late in the second round, dropping Berlanga to the canvas. Berlanga quickly rose and assured referee Eric Dali he was fit to continue. From the third round onward, Berlanga abandoned a more measured boxing approach and began hunting for power shots, wobbling Butler multiple times with heavy combinations. He dropped Butler near the end of the sixth round with a series of left hooks, leaving the Canadian unsteady as he returned to his corner.

The finish came at the 1:14 mark of the seventh round. Berlanga trapped Butler against the ropes and landed a crushing left hook followed by a straight right, leaving Butler badly hurt and unable to defend himself. Dali stepped in to stop the contest, though the intervention created a bizarre scene as the referee and fighter tumbled to the canvas...