Central Park will swap joggers for jabbers on 12 July when Edgar “The Chosen One” Berlanga headlines his first DAZN pay‑per‑view, facing Britain’s unbeaten Hamzah Sheeraz in an open‑air super‑middleweight main event funded by Saudi boxing impresario Turki Alalshikh.
Berlanga, fresh from labelling himself “the f*****g king of New York,” insists he will “destroy” the lanky visitor who dares enter his backyard. The 27‑year‑old’s swagger belies recent reality: he was widely out‑boxed by Canelo Álvarez last September but got a quick KO over Jonathan Gonzalez‑Ortiz in March. Even so, the Brooklyn‑born Puerto Rican is banking on home‑field energy to erase memories of that humbling night and to revive talk of a Canelo rematch.
Sheeraz, a 6 ft 3 in switch‑hitter from Ilford, England, steps up two divisions after a controversial split‑draw with WBC middleweight titlist Carlos Adames in February. The 25‑year‑old has since hired Andy Lee and moved his camp to Sheffield, convinced that extra pounds will bring extra power when he finally fills out his angular frame at 168 lb.
Some say Alalshikh chose a softer landing for Berlanga, but the Saudi mogul counters that Central Park’s inaugural boxing night needed a New York hero and a marketable trans‑Atlantic foil. City officials are already mapping crowd‑flow plans after the logistical headaches of the Times Square show, while DAZN is expected to price the PPV at roughly $59.99.
Berlanga claims a statement win would set up Jaime Munguia next and, ultimately, a lucrative second crack at Álvarez. First, though, he must solve Sheeraz’s height, jab and newfound heft under the summer skyline.
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