Edgar Berlanga, Richardson Hitchins sign with Zuffa Boxing

Zuffa Boxing has added two marquee names to their growing roster of fighters with Edgar Berlanga and IBF junior welterweight champion Richardson Hitchins inking multifight deals, the promotion announced on Wednesday.

Brooklyn’s Berlanga (23-2, 18 KOs) started his pro career with 16 first-round knockouts and eventually landed a fight with Canelo Alvarez in 2024, which he lost by unanimous decision. In his last outing in July 2025, he was stopped in the fifth round by Hamzah Sheeraz. Berlanga, 28, is ESPN’s No. 10-ranked super middleweight. The Puerto Rican fighter hopes to get back to his winning ways with his new promoter.

“Zuffa Boxing is changing the game,” said Berlanga in a statement. “I’m here for the biggest fights on boxing’s best platform. I’m here to put the super middleweight division on notice. ‘The Monster’ is back! Thank you to Dana White, Nick Khan, and the entire Zuffa Boxing team for believing in my talent. I also want to thank my father, Edgar Berlanga Sr., and my manager, Keith Connolly, for always guiding me in the right direction, and this move is no different. This is going to be a special journey.”

Fighting out of Brooklyn, New York, Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) is currently ranked as ESPN’s No. 4 junior welterweight and has been rolling as of late. He won the IBF title by beating Liam Paro by split decision and made one successful defense of the title with a dominant eighth-round stoppage of George Kambosos Jr. last June.

“This is a major step forward in my career,” Hitchins said. “I’m very grateful for this opportunity, and I want to thank Dana White, Nick Khan, and my manager, Keith Connolly, for giving a kid from Brooklyn the opportunity to fight on the biggest stage against the world’s best fighters. With Zuffa Boxing in my corner, I’m going to show the world that I am a pound-for-pound, generational fighter.”

Hitchins, 28, was slated to defend his title against Oscar Duarte as the co-main event to Ryan Garcia’s decision win over Mario Barrios in February. However, Hitchins reportedly fell ill due to a difficult weight cut and was pulled from his title defense on the day of the fight.

Both fighters are managed by Keith Connolly, who also guides the career of Conor Benn. Zuffa Boxing signed Benn in February.

It’s important to note that Zuffa Boxing’s announcement makes no mention of Hitchins as the IBF champion. The promotion was recently at odds with the IBF over cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia competing for the inaugural Zuffa Boxing Cruiserweight Championship. Opetaia was stripped of the title by the IBF for his involvement in Zuffa’s championship fight.