All Change: Having moved to Tampa from New York, Edgar Berlanga now has the long driveway he has always wanted

By Edgar Berlanga (super-middleweight contender)


OVER the past six months my whole life has changed.

Iโ€™ve moved out of New York and over to Tampa, Florida permanently. I just built a house from scratch. We designed everything the way we wanted it. I wanted a long driveway and I got that – now I can fit about 20 cars on there. But I havenโ€™t got 20 yet. I always wanted a long driveway.

Iโ€™m laying down roots here. Iโ€™m from Brooklyn but itโ€™s different right now. I feel like I needed this move for my career. Living in New York is cool and I love New York with all my heart but for my career and my son I think right now weโ€™ve got to be isolated and focused.

Itโ€™s a mature move, itโ€™s different, Iโ€™ve got to start thinking about the future. Itโ€™s not about me no more, itโ€™s about him and my family. Obviously Iโ€™m also setting myself up for when I retire from boxing. Obviously I still have money saved, I have a house now so if, God forbid, anything happens, weโ€™re set.

Itโ€™s crazy. I lived in New York all my life but as soon as I came out here, boom, I got a house. Iโ€™ve been in New York for so long, I was just renting in a luxury building, I never even thought about getting a house but I came out here and got one quick.

A lot of things have changed for me. Living in New York the environment and lifestyle can catch up to you. You feel like youโ€™ve got to keep a certain standard, how you dress and how you look. Thatโ€™s New York, itโ€™s like a fashion place. But over here Iโ€™m in fucking slippers all day, no haircut for weeks and I donโ€™t care. Itโ€™s whatever. Thereโ€™s nobody to impress over here.

My son is two. That means Iโ€™m in the terrible twos right now and he be going crazy. Heโ€™s about to be three in June so hopefully sooner or later the terrible two stage will be gone.

Iโ€™ve actually been sleeping in his room recently, in his bed. Itโ€™s only a small bed but for some reason I sleep good there. Itโ€™s kinda hard and I like hard beds but my fiance likes soft beds. In camp I like to sleep on hard beds because I feel like I sleep way better but it means Iโ€™m sleeping in sheets with dinosaurs on them.

Paddy McCrory is my next opponent and heโ€™s my second Irishman in a row but I donโ€™t got nothing against the Irish, I love Irish people.They got that fighting blood just like Puerto Ricans so itโ€™s going to be something cool against McCrory.

We liked him as an opponent; heโ€™s tough, heโ€™s undefeated and another Irishman. Heโ€™s ranked in the sanctioning bodies so heโ€™s not a guy who will just try and survive, run around the whole ring, like a marathon runner. I think itโ€™s going to be something spectacular.

For knockout artists, if we donโ€™t get guys out you already know that people will start talking shit. If youโ€™re a guy that doesnโ€™t really knock people out and youโ€™re just winning then you can keep going like that. But if youโ€™re a knockout artist and youโ€™re not knocking the guy out, thatโ€™s when they attack you. I always know now, youโ€™re only as good as your last fight.

For example, Teofimo Lopez bust up Josh Taylorโ€™s ass. They were praising him then but now he fought Jamaine Ortiz, who ran around the whole ring, and now Teofimoโ€™s a bum – they say โ€˜he fucking sucksโ€™ and they took him off the rankings. Iโ€™m just like โ€˜damnโ€™.

This is the first of my last two fights on my Matchroom contract. Eddie Hearn doesnโ€™t really want to talk to me about who might be next because itโ€™s fight week and itโ€™s not good to overlook your opponent. Iโ€™m not really into that. Iโ€™d rather handle business and then we can sit down and talk.

Eddie has some good things happening this year but I just need to make sure I look like a superstar this week. Iโ€™m in my home town basically, this is little Puerto Rico and thereโ€™s going to be a whole bunch of Puerto Ricans.

Ever since hurricane Maria in 2017, which damaged Puerto Rico badly, a lot of people escaped and came out here to Orlando to live.

So this is the 2.0 version of Puerto Rico and Iโ€™m amped. You donโ€™t even understand. I canโ€™t stop moving, Iโ€™m anxious because itโ€™s like Iโ€™m back home. Now itโ€™s on me to put on a show.

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