‘Ship The Contract’ For Combat

Edgar Berlanga posted a desperate-looking callout on social media today, telling Jake Paul to “make the fight happen.” The super middleweight fringe contender Berlanga (23-2, 18 KOs) has seemingly thrown his hat into the ring, ready to be the replacement for the popular Jake Paul for December.

The cruiserweight Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) needs an opponent after his planned November 14, 2025, exhibition match against Gervonta Davis was cancelled on Monday due to the Baltimore native’s lawsuit. He was reportedly supposed to have received a purse of around $40 million for the exhibition match against Jake Paul that would have been shown on Netflix.

It’s understandable why Berlanga, 28, has crawled out of the woodwork to push for the fight with Jake. If the $40 million person stayed consistent with what Gervonta was going to receive, it would be a career-high payday for the Brooklyn Native, who identifies with his parents’ home country of Puerto Rico.

“Hey, Jake. Pick up the phone, Jake. I’ve been calling you. Let’s make the fight happen. Pick up the phone. Stop playing,” said Edgar Berlanga on X, volunteering to be the replacement opponent for Jake Paul’s next exhibition fight.

It’s not likely that Jake will choose to use Berlanga as his replacement opponent for two reasons:

Recent poor performances: Berlanga has lost 2 out of his last three fights
Popularity at an all-time low

Berlanga is coming off a fifth-round knockout loss to Hamzah Sheeraz on July 12, 2025, at the Louis Armstrong Stadium, Queens, New York. Sheeraz dropped Berlanga twice in round four. The fight was stopped in the fifth. Last year, Edgar lost to Canelo Alvarez by a one-sided 12-round unanimous decision on September 14, 2024.