Zuffa Boxing headliner Edgar Berlanga is facing a felony charge in Florida. The Lakeland Police Department arrested the super middleweight on Oct. 26 in Polk County on one count of misdemeanor battery and one count of felony aggravated battery, Uncrowned reports.
The charges come from an incident that allegedly occurred on Oct. 18. Berlanga went before a judge Tuesday at the Bartow Courthouse, where bail was set at a combined $16,000, according to court records obtained by Uncrowned.
He is due back for arraignment at 8:45 a.m. on Nov. 17, when he will hear the charges and enter a plea.
The stakes are steep. The misdemeanor battery charge carries a maximum of one year behind bars, while the second-degree felony aggravated battery charge carries a possible sentence of up to 15 years if he is convicted. Berlanga has not been convicted of anything, and the initial report included no comment from him or the promotion.
Berlanga (24-2, 19 KOs) headlined Zuffa Boxing 9 in New York in July, recovering from an early knockdown to stop Steven Butler in the seventh round at Madison Square Garden’s Infosys Theater.
He remains best known for his 2024 challenge of Canelo Alvarez for the WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight titles, which Alvarez won by unanimous decision.
The news adds another off-the-field headache for Dana White’s boxing promotion barely a week after Shakur Stevenson walked away from Zuffa Boxing without ever fighting under the banner.
