Edgar Berlanga’s biggest strength turned into his biggest weakness.

No one started their career like he did. The script was the exact same in each of his first 16 fights: 16 consecutive knockouts.

Piling up bodies in the first three minutes of a fight was incredibly fun. Well, for Berlanga. Not so much the opponents.

Fame and eventually fortune followed. But with each highlight-reel worthy KO, Berlanga, according to Antonio Tarver, began skipping steps. And, this past Saturday night, that came back to haunt him.

The Ring hosted Berlanga and Hamzah Sheeraz, along with a few others, at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York. All of Berlanga’s hubris and ego-soaked promises went out the window as Sheeraz ran through him via fifth-round stoppage.

Now, Berlanga will look in the mirror and ask himself questions. Tarver though, believes he knows the answers.

“Those 16 first-round knockouts didn’t give him time to develop as a fighter,” Tarver told The Ring.

Getting his opponents out of there quickly wasn’t Berlanga’s only issue. On September 14, 2024, the Brooklyn native hit the jackpot when Canelo Alvarez called his phone.

By and large, many believed a brutal knockout was coming Berlanga’s way. Instead, he managed to go the distance in a non-competitive fight.

Since then, the 28-year-old walked around believing he arrived. He was also convinced that losing would never happen to him again. And while lasting 36 minutes with a future Hall of Famer and current undisputed champion isn’t a bad thing, Tarver has a feeling that got to his head.

“When you finally get in there with a guy like Canelo and you go the distance, that can be mislead you in a lot of ways.”