After dropping a unanimous decision to Canelo Alvarez in September, Edgar Berlanga still enjoyed a victory lap in Puerto Rico and was supposed to headline his own show on the island this month.

But instead of a massive platform in front of his people, Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs) will be stuck playing second fiddle on March 15 against Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz (20-0-1, 16 KOs) at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, which is home to a heavy Puerto Rican population.

The 10-round super middleweight contest will serve as a co-main event to the Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN headlined by the middleweight matchup between Austin Williams and Patrice Volny.

“We were scheduled to fight a main event fight on March 8 at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in front of 18,000 people,” Berlanga told The Ring in an interview. “We were going to sell it out. Those were the talks ever since November. But you know, being that I’m going to be a free agent after this fight, the contracts they were giving us for that fight, we just didn't like it.

“We couldn't come to an agreement at all. It's sad, because I have a big fan base, especially after the Canelo fight. My fan base grew out of this world. Then they put me in Orlando, which is Little Puerto Rico. I feel bad for my people.

“I didn't want to do any extensions. I’m a superstar. I want to make my own moves and not have anyone behind me acting like they are my boss. March 15 was the only date available for us for a quick turnaround. I didn't want to wait any longer to finish the contract. I said, 'Y'all want to give me a Puerto Rican guy as the co-main event? I'll take that.' Sometimes you have to take one step back to take two steps forward.”

Gonzalez-Ortiz is a 35-year-old from San Juan who started his career as a welterweight and returned to action in 2024 after a 10-year layoff. He is nowhere near the caliber of opponents that Berlanga desires, which is made up of a trio consisting of Jaime Munguia, Caleb Plant, and Jermall Charlo.

The all-Boricua battle against Gonzalez-Ortiz will mark Berlanga’s fourth with Matchroom head Eddie Hearn, who signed the rising knockout artist after Berlanga split from Top Rank in 2023.

“I'm 100 percent upset with [Hearn],” said Berlanga. “I don't think it's cool. It's disrespectful to me and my fans. My fans are everything to me. They are the ones who make us rich buying tickets and pay per views … I'm upset with [Hearn] because we had good business. I never did anything to backdoor him. I feel that we should have made the contract for the March 8 fight happen, regardless of free agency.

“I feel that business is business at the end of the day. We should always do good business. If you do good business with me, right, and I become a free agent, we never said, 'Hey, we're never going to sign with you again.' You get what I’m saying? We could have re-signed and fought. There is no hate. But you’re doing stuff like that, then it's like, 'Cool, I see where you’re at. I see where your mind is at.' When it's all said and done, that sh!t looks bad for my brand. It's not something that is going to break my heart, or I'm going to go out there and crash out.

“You know how boxing is. I have to take the good with the good, and the bad with the bad. I just have to go and handle my business. End this guy early and show out. And then the free agency tour starts.”