“I’m excited again to be performing at Madison Square Garden. Shout out to Dana White. Shout out to Zuffa. Shout out to Keith Connolly for making this fight happen, man,” Berlanga said to Zuffa Boxing. “I’m excited to be headlining once again in my city at Madison Square Garden. And for world titles, first and foremost, I’ve got to get ready to stand on this dude on the 26th. Do you know what I mean? I handle my business, then we look forward to chasing those titles.”

Berlanga repeatedly returned to the same point during his remarks. He said his attention is on Butler and that any discussion about world title fights can wait until after July 26. Only after getting past Butler does he plan to pursue a championship opportunity.

The matchup also carries added importance because it is Berlanga’s debut under the Zuffa Boxing banner.

Losing on Sunday would be the third loss in his last four fights for Berlanga, who started off his career with 16 consecutive first-round knockouts while promoted by Top Rank. He wants to recapture that same form, but he’s found it increasingly difficult to fight in that way against the higher-level opposition he’s been facing.

Berlanga has been vocal about wanting to fight Jaime Munguia. Now that Munguia holds the WBA super middleweight title, that’s an obvious direction for him to go in if he’s successful in his debut with Zuffa against Butler.

Ready to rock in The Big Apple 🍎 🗽 🥊

🇵🇷 @EdgarBerlangaJr relishing the chance to show out in New York!#ZuffaBoxing09 | 📺: @ParamountPlus | JUL 26 pic.twitter.com/K3LmS6gIMp

— Zuffa_Boxing (@Zuffa_Boxing) July 18, 2026