Yankiel Rivera could return on March 8 as Matchroom seek foe for Edgar Berlanga

Work is ongoing to finalize Edgar Berlanga’s return to the ring in Puerto Rico on March 8 – and to arrange the undercard.

Berlanga was last seen losing a decision to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in September 2024, but the super middleweight has vowed to bounce back impressively.

He could, on that same promotion, be joined by the unbeaten Puerto Rican flyweight Yankiel Rivera, 7-0 (4 KOs), who defeated the then-14-0 Angel Gonzalez in four rounds on the undercard of Liam Paro-Richardson Hitchins in December at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan.

While no opponent is confirmed, BoxingScene understands that a fighter being considered to face the unbeaten Puerto Rican is South Africa’s Sivenathi Nontshinga. Nontshinga, 13-2 (10 KOs), has been a popular addition to several Matchroom bills and is a former two-time champion at light-flyweight, where he was defeated by Masamichi Yabuki in Tokyo in October.

Rivera is ranked second by the WBA, but the number-one spot is empty because Seigo Yuri Akui, the WBA champion, meets his WBC counterpart Kenshiro Teraji in March. 

Matchroom chief executive Frank Smith told BoxingScene that the plan for Berlanga was to return on March 8 and then to target further big fights.

“That’s what we’re trying to work on,” Smith said. “That’s the focus for us right now. Hopefully, we can get that done – it’s coming around very soon, that date. You know, he had a great fight against ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, and the key is getting back active and getting back in those big fights. 

“There’s lots of big fights to be made at 168. We’re just working through options now [for March 8]. We’re looking at some highly ranked people, both in the WBO, hopefully top 15 in the world for him. You know, the focus is, as I say, getting back in those big fights – the likes of the Caleb Plant fight, and we’ll see what happens with [Jaime] Munguia if he comes back. Diego Pacheco’s a fight that’s been called for many times over the years. So, let’s see how things play out.”