Edgar Berlanga v Padraig McCrory
(Sunday from 1am Irish time, Live on DAZN)
 
TRUSTING the process has been the winning combination for Padraig McCrory and head coach Dee Walsh to date, so they won’t be changing their approach ahead of McCrory’s meeting with Edgar Berlanga in Orlando on Saturday.

The pair have enjoyed a superb run together since McCrory employed his fellow St James’ man and ex-pro Walsh as his head coach, building towards this point with some huge wins along the way against the likes of Sergei Gorokhov, Marco Antonio Periban and Leon Bunn when McCrory stepped up to light-heavyweight to claim the IBO belt.

But this time it is tougher again, the task against a monstrous puncher in Berlanga fittingly entitled ‘Shootout’.

Since his win over Bunn in October 2022, McCrory hasn’t quite reached the same heights in terms of performance despite claiming another three wins to improve to 18-0.

The last of those came at the Falls Park last summer against Steed Woodall with McCrory entering the ring with less than ideal preparation.

A hand injury that had hampered since the win in Germany was now a major issue, resulting in virtually no sparring ahead of the bout and other aspects of camp severely hampered.

For a power-puncher like McCrory, that was a major handicap but it is no longer the case as fighter and coach have enjoyed a 12-week camp this time and Walsh feels his charge is in as good a place as he was going into the Bunn fight.

“‘Pody’ has been able to stay injury-free and we’ve been working on a game-plan since he was back training,” said Walsh.

“Those camps were a nightmare as he couldn’t punch properly on the pads, never mind sparring or bags. We had to do paddles every day because that’s less impact on the hands.

“Thankfully, this camp has been amazing. The pads he was doing (in preparation) for Germany, he has been doing this time, so he is fully prepared and there will be no excuses.”

The West Belfast man enters as an outsider against ‘The Chosen One’ and his coach expects Berlanga to be brash and bullish in an effort to unsettle the Belfast men.

However, Walsh insists they won’s take the bait, but instead retain composure and ensure his man does his talking in the ring.

“I don’t play those games,” he stressed.

“I’ve said to Pody about the press conference to just let him do what he wants. We’ve never engaged with back-and-forth with any fighters - none of my fighters have - so we’re not going to start now.”

Jason Quigley was the last to share a ring with Berlanga and although the Donegal man was dropped four times on his way to a points loss, there were clear signs the New Yorker could be out-boxed.

McCrory is not a fighter in the same mould as Quigley, however, so the game-plan has not been exclusively built around that blueprint.

Berlanga may have gone to the cards in his last five fights, but his 16 previous wins came inside the distance and there does seem some pressure to add to the latter tally.

That suggests the man of Puerto Rican descent is gunning for a statement win but McCrory can also bang and Walsh believes there will be opportunities for his man to stun the favourite.

“I thought he performed quite well against Quigley,” Walsh opined.

“He got a bit of stick about it for whatever reason. Quigley is a good fighter and he (Berlanga) knocked him down four times, so he has to be respected.

“I have studied that fight and him for months now. He is beatable, but he is also a brilliant fighter. It’s going to be really tough on the night, but Pody has gained the experience over the last few years to do this.

“He’s had the training, had the sparring and there are weaknesses (in Berlanga) that Pody can exploit.

“Pody has knockout power too, so if the two of them come together in a gun battle, Pody is the one who will come out on top.

“Berlanga smothers people. He doesn’t knock anybody out cold, but Pody does. If it does come to that and it might have to in a 12-round fight where he is going to have to plant his feet, I have confidence Pody will come out on top.”

It’s been quite a ride for the fighter and coach who have grown up together, boxed as amateurs together and now are on a remarkable journey in the professional code.

They have found the winning formula each time and the improvements made by McCrory have been greatly assisted by Walsh who insists they aren’t ready for the ride to end yet.

“I said it before that had you told me four years ago Pody would be in this position, I’d have laughed at you,” he admitted.

“Why not believe we can go all the way now? We haven’t come this far just to come this far.”