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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 12: Edgar Berlanga looks on prior to fighting Hamzah Sheeraz for the super middleweight title eliminator at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on July 12, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Edgar Berlanga and Richardson Hitchins will both be in action at Zuffa 9 on July 26 in New York, and they now officially have their opponents.
Berlanga (23-2, 18 KO) will not have to move up to light heavyweight, as Zuffa do apparently plan to do a super middleweight division. That sort of thing — Zuffa backing down on the various “in-between” divisions — is probably inevitable.
At any rate, Berlanga will face Canadian veteran Steven Butler in a 10-round fight. The 30-year-old Butler (38-5-1, 32 KO) is the level of opponent Berlanga is accustomed to beating, and after losing two of his last three to Canelo Alvarez and Hamzah Sheeraz, the 29-year-old could use some rebuilding if Zuffa are going to take a fresh run at making him a star.
That said, Berlanga vs Butler could also just be a corker of a fight. Butler is a pretty fearless guy, does not fear losing, does not fear getting knocked out. He tends to bring action, and that could bring the entertaining best out of Berlanga.
As for Hitchins, he will be moving up to welterweight, having vacated the IBF super lightweight title. The 28-year-old Brooklyn-born technician is coming off of a stoppage win over George Kambosos Jr in June 2025, and will be facing Mexico’s Ricardo Salas.
Salas (24-2-2, 18 KO) has won his last six, including a Zuffa fight in March against Jesus Saracho. Hitchins (20-0, 8 KO) is a big step up from the levels Salas has been fighting at, though. Unlike with Berlanga, I’m not sure there’s much of any type of opponent who can make Hitchins all that much fun to watch, but we’ll see.
The show will be held at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, with Zuffa making their New York debut.
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