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Zuffa Boxing 09 Preview: Berlanga, Hitchins Headline Sunday at MSG

July 23, 2026 • 6 min read

Zuffa Boxing makes its New York debut on Sunday, July 26, with an eight fight card at the Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden headlined by two Brooklyn fighters in separate bouts. Edgar Berlanga faces Steven Butler in the 10 round super middleweight main event, and Richardson Hitchins makes his welterweight debut against Ricardo Salas in the 12 round co-feature. The full card, confirmed last month, streams on Paramount+ with prelims at 5 PM ET and the main card at 8 PM ET. Sky Sports carries the event in the UK and Ireland.

Berlanga vs. Butler

Berlanga (23-2, 18 KOs) returns from a year out of the ring. He has not fought since July 2025, when Hamzah Sheeraz stopped him in the fifth round in Queens, a defeat that followed his decision loss to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in September 2024. The 29 year old, who opened his career with 16 consecutive first round knockouts, signed with Zuffa Boxing in April and makes his first appearance under the banner.

“I’m excited, you know, I’m anxious, I’m happy. I got a lot of feelings, you know. My nerves are good nerves,” Berlanga said in a fight week interview with BroBible. “Ready to perform.”

Butler (38-5-1, 32 KOs), a 30 year old veteran from Montreal, arrives on a four fight knockout run since moving up to super middleweight, capped by a second round finish of Ramadan Hiseni in March. “I’ve proven that I’m ready to return to the international stage. 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,” Butler said when the fight was announced, per BoxingScene.

Camille Estephan, president of Butler’s promoter Eye of the Tiger Management, believes his fighter arrives at the right time. “The power has always been there, but with the maturity he now possesses and the physical strength he has developed at super middleweight, I would even go so far as to say that a Steven who sticks to his game plan is the favorite against Berlanga,” Estephan said, as quoted by Boxing247.

Hitchins vs. Salas

Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) fights at 147 pounds for the first time after vacating the IBF junior welterweight title, citing a difficult weight cut. The 28 year old defended that belt with an eighth round stoppage of George Kambosos Jr. last June in the same Infosys Theater room he returns to on Sunday.

Hitchins confirmed the matchup himself on social media in late May, writing “SALAS IT IS! JULY 26 done,” and described the opponent search bluntly. “Cap … they presented [Salas], [Eimantas] Stanionis and tried to push Rodriguez. Dude said he couldn’t fight. I said bring Salas or whoever they could get since the date’s getting close now,” he wrote, per BoxingScene.

Salas (24-2-2, 18 KOs), a 27 year old from Mexico City riding a 10 fight unbeaten streak, had already named his targets when he signed with the promotion. “The order doesn’t matter, just as long as I get them one right after the other. On second thought, it might be best if I fight Hitchins first because when he sees me starch Benn and Rodriguez, he may enter witness protection,” Salas said in a release quoted in the same BoxingScene report. He stopped Jesus Saracho in eight rounds in his Zuffa Boxing debut in March and owns a win over former welterweight contender Roiman Villa.

Hitchins has spent the run-up answering criticism of the matchmaking, including from Gervonta Davis. “I don’t need a buzz to go in there and cash a 7 figure check,” he wrote on X, as reported by Boxing247. He has also been naming names for what comes after: “14 days till It’s Belt For Salas and after this any one of y’all favorite fighters at 147 can get it, Ryan, Devin, Rolly, Teo, Coner Benn And any one of them other Guys it’s the Hit Chins Era I promise,” he posted earlier this month.

Hackett vs. Derevyanchenko

The main card opens with a 10 round middleweight bout between Jalil Hackett (12-1, 9 KOs) and three time world title challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko (16-6, 11 KOs). Hackett, a 23 year old from Southeast Washington, D.C., turned professional off an amateur career of nearly 150 wins and 10 national titles. His lone loss came by split decision to Jose Roman Vazquez at welterweight in December 2024; he has since moved up and won three straight, most recently a majority decision over Roberto Cruz Jr. in February.

Derevyanchenko, 40, has never been stopped in a career that includes title challenges against Daniel Jacobs, Gennadiy Golovkin and Jermall Charlo, plus a 2023 Fight of the Year battle with Jaime Munguia. The Jacobs fight, a split decision loss in October 2018, took place in the same Madison Square Garden theater where he fights Sunday. The bout marks his return to 160 pounds after four consecutive fights at super middleweight; he has fought once since losing to Christian Mbilli in August 2024, stopping Jeremy Ramos in six rounds last July, according to The Ring, which first reported the matchup.

Wallin vs. Sirenko

The prelim portion is topped by a 10 round heavyweight bout between Otto Wallin (28-3, 16 KOs) and Vladyslav Sirenko (22-1, 19 KOs), a crossroads matchup between a proven contender and a puncher looking to rebound from his first career defeat.

Wallin, a 35 year old southpaw from Sundsvall, Sweden, became the first Swedish fighter to sign with Zuffa Boxing in April and makes his debut under the banner on Sunday. His three losses have come exclusively against the top of the division: the 2019 decision defeat to Tyson Fury in which he opened a cut that required 47 stitches, a fifth round stoppage loss to Anthony Joshua in Riyadh in December 2023, and a unanimous decision defeat to Derek Chisora in an IBF title eliminator in February 2025. He also holds a 2023 split decision win over Murat Gassiev, now the WBA heavyweight beltholder, and has spent the past year training under Ronnie Shields in Houston.

Wallin is a familiar face to Boxing Insider readers. He has fought twice on Boxing Insider Promotions cards at Tropicana Atlantic City, stopping Onoriode Ehwarieme in the first round on July 26, 2024, exactly two years to the day before this card, and knocking out Chris Thomas in two rounds last November in his most recent outing. “I just try to go out there, not be reckless,” Wallin said after the Ehwarieme win. “Come back (from a loss to Anthony Joshua) get a knockout in the first round, it always feels good.” He added: “I’m still one of the top guys, and I think I showed it now.”

Sirenko, a 31 year old Ukrainian now based in Staten Island, built his reputation on power, with 19 knockouts in 22 wins. He suffered the first loss of his career last July, dropping a 10 round unanimous decision to Solomon Dacres on the undercard of the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois rematch, and has not fought since. Sunday is his chance to reestablish himself against the most accomplished opponent of his career.

The Prelims

The rest of the prelim card features a heavyweight meeting of unbeaten punchers in Kashaun Davis (11-0, 11 KOs) and Romania’s Mihai Nistor (8-0, 8 KOs), who between them have stopped all 19 of their professional opponents. Nistor is best known for beating Anthony Joshua in the amateurs before representing Romania at the 2016 Olympics. New York welterweight Arnold Gonzalez (18-1, 9 KOs) meets Emiliano Moreno (12-1, 7 KOs), Troy Nash (7-0-1, 1 KO) faces Ethan Perez (8-0-1, 3 KOs) at featherweight, and Dominique Francis (16-0, 10 KOs) takes on Andres Sosa (18-4, 9 KOs) at super featherweight. Prelims stream on Paramount+ beginning at 5 PM ET.