Edgar Berlanga vs. Steven Butler | Paramount+ - July 26, 2026

[Ruthless-RKO]

Edgar Berlanga and Richardson Hitchins share top-billing on Zuffa Boxing's New York debut

Edgar Berlanga leads the way on Zuffa Boxing’s New York show on Sunday, July 26, when he faces Canadian contender Steven Butler.

Former IBF 140lbs champion Richardson Hitchins is also on the Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden bill against Ricardo Salas at welterweight.

Berlanga, 23-2 (18 KOs) has not boxed since a one-sided loss to Hamzah Sheeraz in New York last July.

Veteran Butler is now 38-5-1 (32 KOs), has won his last four but has career losses to Patrice Volney, Janibek Alimkhanuly, Jose de Jesus Macia, Ryoto Murata and Brandon Cook.

Berlanga and Butler will box a 10-rounder.

“I’ve proven that I’m ready to return to the international stage,” the 30-year-old Butler said. “I’ve fought in Japan, so New York doesn’t intimidate me. In fact, it’s perfect because it’s not too far from my training camp in Connecticut. As for the rest, I’m working hard, and I plan to seize my opportunity in New York. You’ll see. This is my moment.”

Hitchins, like Berlanga – from Brooklyn – is 20-0 (8 KOs) and the 28-year-old will box at 147lbs for the first time having scared wins over Liam Paro and George Kambosos in his last two bouts.

Salas is 24-2-2 (18 KOs), and they will contest a 12-round fight.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Zuffa Boxing 09: Berlanga-Butler, Hitchins-Salas Set For July 26

Edgar Berlanga and Richardson Hitchins will be heavy favorites to win their Zuffa Boxing debuts.

Their new promoter announced Tuesday that Berlanga will end a one-year layoff versus Steven Butler in the 10-round main event of Zuffa’s card scheduled for July 26 at Madison Square Garden’s Infosys Theater in New York. Hitchins’ opponent in the 12-round co-feature, Ricardo Salas, was announced as well.

Paramount+ will stream the Berlanga-Butler and Hitchins-Salas bouts as part of a tripleheader. The opener of the three-bout telecast, which begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PST, hasn’t been announced.

Zuffa announced the signings of Berlanga and Hitchins in April.

Brooklyn’s Berlanga (23-2, 18 KOs) will try to rebuild his career after a destructive fifth-round knockout loss to England’s Hamzah Sheeraz (23-0-1, 19 KOs) last July 12 in the main event of “The Ring III” card at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York. Sheeraz dropped the 29-year-old Berlanga twice during the fourth round and the super middleweight was on his way down a third time when referee David Fields halted the action 17 seconds into the fifth.

Berlanga’s only other loss was a 12-round unanimous decision to former undisputed super middleweight champ Canelo Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KOs) in September 2024.

Montreal’s Butler (38-5-1, 32 KOs) is considered a puncher, but each of his five defeats have come by knockout or technical knockout.

Butler, 30, has won four straight fights since Patrice Volny (20-2, 13 KOs) stopped him in the ninth round of their June 2024 bout in Montreal, also Volny’s hometown. He campaigned at junior middleweight and middleweight for the first 10 years of his pro career, before he moved up to the super middleweight limit of 168 pounds after Volny defeated him.
Hitchins will end an even longer layoff than Berlanga.

The former IBF junior welterweight champ hasn’t boxed since his eighth-round technical knockout of former unified lightweight champ George Kambosos Jr. last June at the same venue where he’ll battle Salas.

Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs), also a Brooklyn native, was scheduled to defend his IBF 140-pound championship against Mexico’s Oscar Duarte on February 21 in Las Vegas. He made weight February 20, only to surprisingly withdraw the morning he was supposed to face Duarte on the Ryan Garcia-Mario Barrios undercard at T-Mobile Arena.

The 28-year-old Hitchins relinquished his IBF belt in April and announced he’ll compete at welterweight.

Mexico City’s Salas (24-2-2, 18 KOs) has won six straight fights since he settled for a 10-round majority draw with Chester Parada (then 12-3) in October 2023 in Tijuana. The 27-year-old Salas’ two losses were split-decision defeats to Abraham Juarez (then 6-1) in March 2018 and Julio Luna (then 15-0-2) in August 2021.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Sendo Takeshi]

Wasn't the phony one supposed to fight Kalajdzic?
They definitely realised he would his @ss kicked..

Also..why is he still fighting at super middle? I thought that weight class doesn't exist in Zuffa...

[Cent0089]

Sergey Derevyanchenko should be in undercard

[MPW]

Berlanga vs. Butler is an interesting match up that will tell us a lot about where both fighters are currently at with their careers. I feel Berlanga is more hype than talent, but you watch to see if he's going to knock someone out or get knocked out. Butler is pretty much all action and looks to cause damage, but he hasn't fared too well when stepping up in competition. However, I'm not convinced this is a step up in competition.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Derevyanchenko-Hackett Added To Zuffa Boxing Card July 26

Sergiy Derevyanchenko will return to the site of two of his most memorable bouts to test a young prospect hopeful of re-establishing the momentum he once had.

The Ring has learned Derevyanchenko will battle Jalil Hackett in a 10-round middleweight match July 26 at Madison Square Garden’s Infosys Theater in New York. The bout between Ukraine’s Derevyanchenko (16-6, 11 KOs) and Washington, D.C.’s Hackett (12-1, 9 KOs) will open the main, three-fight portion of Zuffa Boxing 09.

Paramount+ will stream Derevyanchenko versus Hackett just before the two bouts Zuffa Boxing announced Tuesday, which will feature Brooklyn natives Edgar Berlanga and Richardson Hitchins.

Berlanga (23-2, 18 KOs), a super middleweight contender, is set to face Canada’s Steven Butler (38-5-1, 32 KOs) in the 10-round main event. Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs), a former IBF junior welterweight champ, will make his welterweight debut against Mexico’s Ricardo Salas (24-2-2, 18 KOs) in the 12-round co-feature.

Derevyanchenko, 40, has fought only once since his 10-round, unanimous-decision defeat to Christian Mbilli (29-0-1, 23 KOs) in August 2024. The battled-tested Derevyanchenko will drop back down to the 160-pound division after four fights at the super middleweight limit of 168.

The gritty Derevyanchenko did his best work at middleweight.

He lost a split decision to Daniel Jacobs in their highly competitive fight for the then-vacant IBF middleweight title in October 2018 at Madison Square Garden’s Theater. Derevyanchenko later gave Gennadiy Golovkin one of his most difficult fights, but he narrowly lost that brutal battle by unanimous decision in October 2019 at Madison Square Garden.

Hackett, 23, was touted as a can’t-miss prospect when Floyd Mayweather’s company promoted him.

Weight issues hindered him when he competed at 147 pounds, however, and he surprisingly lost a 10-round split decision to Jose Roman in December 2024. Hackett has won three straight fights since suffering that defeat, including a 10-round, majority-decision victory over Roberto Cruz Jr. (11-2, 7 KOs) in his Zuffa debut February 1 in Las Vegas.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Zuffa books Berlanga-Butler, Hitchins-Salas for July 26 in NYC

Zuffa Boxing signees Edgar Berlanga and Richardson Hitchins will make their promotional debuts on July 26 and Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden in their home state of New York, the promotion announced on Tuesday.

Berlanga (23-2, 18 KOs) will face Montreal's Steven Butler (38-5-1, 32 KOs) in a 10-round super middleweight main event while Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) takes on Ricardo Salas (24-2-2, 18 KOs) in a 12-round welterweight co-main event. The fight card will stream live on Paramount+.

Fighting out of Brooklyn, Berlanga is 1-2 in his last three fights with a stoppage win over Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz sandwiched between a decision loss to Canelo Alvarez and a knockout loss to Hamzah Sheeraz. Butler has won his last four fights by stoppage and challenged Janibek Alimkhanuly for the WBO super middleweight title in 2023, a bout he lost via second-round TKO.

Also out of Brooklyn, Hitchins will move up to welterweight after vacating the IBF junior welterweight title that he won against Liam Paro and successfully defended against George Kambosos. He'll have to turn back Mexico's Salas, who hasn't lost since 2022 and has stopped five of his last six opponents.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Announced: Jalil Hackett will face Segiy Derevyanchenko in a middleweight contest at Zuffa Boxing 09, which is co-headlined by Edgar Berlanga vs Steven Butler and Richardson Hitchins vs Ricardo Salas at the Infosys Theater at MSG in New York.

[MPW]

I find it interesting that the hard-luck Derevyanchenko is dropping back down to MW at this stage of his career. I hope this bout serves as the impetus for one last push to win that elusive world title and not the start of becoming a gatekeeper for young boxers looking to add a name to their fight resumes.

[Ruthless-RKO]

In 3 weeks!

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Ruthless-RKO]

Otto Wallin vs Vladyslav Sirenko headlines Zuffa Boxing 9 prelims

Wallin vs Sirenko has been confirmed among five preliminary bouts for Zuffa Boxing 9 at the Infosys Theater at MSG in New York

The heavyweight bout between Otto Wallin and Vladyslav Sirenko has been confirmed, along with four other preliminary matchups for Zuffa Boxing 9. The event takes place at the Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York on Sunday, July 26.

• New York-based Wallin (28-3, 16 KOs) of Sweden was last in action last November, when he knocked out Chris Thomas in the second round. With the victory, the 35-year-old southpaw bounced back from a decision defeat to Derek Chisora in an IBF title eliminator last February.

• Staten Island-based Sirenko (22-1, 19 KOs) of Ukraine looks to return to winning ways. The 31-year-old suffered his first career defeat last July, dropping a decision to Solomon Dacres on the undercard of Usyk vs Dubois 2.
  Zuffa Boxing 9 prelims stream live on Paramount+, starting at 5:00 p.m. ET / 2:00 p.m. PT.

Also confirmed for the prelims is a welterweight bout between New York’s Arnold Gonzalez (18-1, 9 KOs) and Emiliano Moreno (12-1, 7 KOs) of Long Beach, California.

Another heavyweight contest pits Kashaun Davis (11-0, 11 KOs) of Pearl, Mississippi, against Mihai Nistor (8-0, 8 KOs) of Romania.

A featherweight battle features Troy Nash (7-0-1, 1 KO) of Colorado Springs, Colorado, facing Ethan Perez (8-0-1, 3 KOs) of San Antonio, Texas.

A super featherweight matchup between Miami’s Dominique Jamar Francis (16-0, 10 KOs) and Argentina’s Hector Andres Sosa (18-4, 9 KOs) kicks off the action.

• Main event: Headlining Zuffa Boxing 9, Brooklyn’s Edgar Berlanga (23-2, 18 KOs) faces fellow former title challenger Steven Butler (37-5-1, 31 KOs) of Canada in a super middleweight bout.

In the co-feature, Brooklyn’s former world champion Richardson Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) takes on Ricardo Salas (24-2-2, 18 KOs) of Mexico City at welterweight.

The main card opener is a middleweight bout between Ukraine’s former title challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko (16-6, 11 KOs) and Jalil Hackett (12-1, 9 KOs) of Washington, D.C.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Ruthless-RKO]

Otto Wallin vs. Vladyslav Sirenko added to July 26 Zuffa Boxing show

Perennial heavyweight fringe contender Otto Wallin will take on Ukraine’s Vladyslav Sirenko on July 26 over 10 rounds as part of Zuffa Boxing 09 which is headlined by Edgar Berlanga and Richardson Hitchins in separate bouts.

From Sweden and 35 years old, Wallin has lost to Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Derek Chisora but does hold a 2023 victory over current WBA heavyweight beltholder, Murat Gassiev. His record reads 28-3 (16 KOs).

Sirenko, 31, isn’t nearly as experienced at the highest level. He last fought in July last year, losing a 10-round unanimous decision to Solomon Dacres on the Oleksandr Usyk-Daniel Dubois II undercard that saw his record drop to 22-1 (19 KOs).

Another heavyweight bout added to the card will see the 8-0 (8 KOs) Romanian Mihai Nistor, who beat Joshua in the amateur ranks, take on Kashaun Davis, 11-0 (11 KOs), over eight rounds.

-----------
The card, which takes place at the Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden, in full:

Edgar Berlanga vs. Steven Nelson, 10 rounds, super middleweight

Richardson Hitchins vs. Ricardo Salas, 12 rounds, welterweight

Jalil Hackett vs. Sergiy Derevyanchenko, 10 rounds

Otto Wallin vs. Vladyslav Sirenko, 10 rounds, heavyweight

Arnold Gonzalez vs. Emiliano Moreno, 8 rounds, welterweight

Kashaun Davis vs. Mihai Nistor, 8 rounds, heavyweight

Troy Nash vs. Ethan Perez, 8 rounds, featherweight

Dominique Francis vs. Andres Sosa, 8 rounds, junior lightweight

[Cent0089]

Another good Zuffa card. no superstars, but another card where you enjoy all 8 fights