Edgar Berlanga arrested on battery charges ahead of planned January return

Edgar Berlanga has been arrested and charged with felony aggravated battery and misdemeanour battery in Polk County, Florida, following an alleged incident on October 18.

The 29-year-old super-middleweight was arrested by the Lakeland Police Department on October 26 and appeared before a judge at Bartow Courthouse the following day. According to court records obtained by Yahoo Sports’ Darshan Desai, bail was set at a combined $16,000.

Berlanga is scheduled to be arraigned at 8.45am ET on November 17. He faces one count of second-degree felony aggravated battery and one count of first-degree misdemeanour battery. The available court records do not detail the circumstances surrounding the alleged incident.

Under Florida law, a second-degree felony carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years, while a first-degree misdemeanour is punishable by up to one year in jail. These are the maximum penalties available upon conviction.

The arrest comes as Berlanga’s team had been planning his return for late January. Speaking to Total Boxing’s Tris Dixon last week, his manager, Keith Connolly, said the proposed fight would be against an unbeaten opponent, ruling out recent Zuffa Boxing signing Bruno Surace.

Connolly also discussed plans for a bigger fight around Puerto Rican Day Parade weekend in June, with an opponent of Jaime Munguia’s standing being targeted.

Berlanga last fought in July, stopping Steven Butler in the seventh round at the Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. He recovered from an early knockdown to win his Zuffa Boxing debut and improve his record to 24-2 (19 KOs), having signed a multi-fight agreement with the promotion in April.

The victory followed Berlanga’s fifth-round knockout defeat to Hamzah Sheeraz in July 2025. He had previously challenged Saul “Canelo” Alvarez for the WBA, WBC and WBO super-middleweight titles in September 2024, losing a unanimous decision in Las Vegas, before stopping Jonathan González-Ortiz in March 2025.

Berlanga’s proposed January return has not been formally announced, and it remains unclear whether the legal proceedings will affect those plans. His next scheduled court appearance is on November 17.