Zuffa Boxing: Edgar Berlanga off canvas to beat Steven Butler in Madison Square Garden thriller | Boxing news

Edgar Berlanga got back to winning ways after coming off the canvas to stop Steven Butler in the seventh round of a thrilling Zuffa Boxing super-middleweight contest at Madison Square Garden.

A year after a knockout loss to Britain’s Hamzah Shiraz, Berlanga was staring down another loss as he was dropped by Butler in the final seconds of the second round.

Lighting up the knockdown touchpaper, Berlanga hit Butler with heavy shots around the ring and forced his opponent to escape the attack by any means necessary.

Butler even launched an MMA-style takedown in an attempt to fight off Berlanga, but his most productive spell came when he landed two big shots of his own as Bell neared the end of round three.

Back-and-forth action continued, with Berlanga landing cleaner and heavier shots before ending six rounds with a barrage of right hands that eventually knocked Butler to the canvas.

Butler offered some resistance by landing a big right hand early in the seventh, only to have matters taken out of his hands when Berlanga’s devastating combination left the referee with no choice but to stop the fight.

Berlanger’s 24th career win extended his unbeaten record to 6-0 at Madison Square Garden as he eyes the biggest names in the super-middleweight division with a possible shot at avenging his loss to Shiraz.

“It shows that I’m a real champion, and I’m not sacred to fight anybody,” Berlanga said after the fight. “I fought a dangerous fighter, a big knockout punch to prove myself and show people that I’m back.

“We want Hamzah Shiraz, Jaime Munguia, Chris Eubank, Jermael Charlo, Caleb Plant, we want to fight to prove we are with the best.”

Hitchens surpassed Salas

In the co-main event, former super-lightweight world champion Richardson Hitchins made a strong start to life at welterweight, defeating Ricardo ‘Magic Man’ Salas by unanimous decision.

Hitchins used his speed, accuracy and reach to dominate throughout, repeatedly knocking Salas back with his jab and rarely allowing the Mexican to fight back.

The one-sided nature of the contest was reflected by three 100-90 scorecards.

After impressing in his new weight class, Hitchin immediately turned his attention to the biggest names in the division, declaring his ambitions and beating the best at 147lbs.

“I want the best guys in boxing,” Hitchins said. “Give me Garvonta Davis, Devon Haney, Ryan Garcia.

“They say I’m not like that, show me I’m not like that. 21-0, no draws, no blemish on my record. Bring it on if you want.”