Edgar Berlanga plans to return with a vengeance.

The unbeaten Nuyorican has officially completed his six-month suspension as issued by the New York State Athletic Commission and is free to resume his career. The timing obviously doesn’t leave room for another fight in 2022, though he is making a hit list for his 2023 campaign—including those who continue to doubt his star potential.

“Suspension over, 2023 biggest year of my career. The f------’ Chosen One is back,” Berlanga emphatically stated during a cardio session on Sunday, six months to the day of his last fight. “Back like I never left.”

Berlanga (20-0, 16KOs) was last seen in the ring on June 11, when he claimed a ten-round, unanimous decision victory over Alexis Angulo. The fight aired live on ESPN from Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden on the eve of the 65th annual National Puerto Rican Day parade held in midtown Manhattan, marking the first time that Berlanga headlined a boxing event on that weekend, carrying out a tradition created by promoter Top Rank in 2005.

The extra attention paid to the event didn’t bode well for Berlanga, who was caught on camera attempting to bite Angulo during the seventh-round of their super middleweight bout. The act went undisciplined by referee Ricky Gonzalez in real time, but was immediately brought to the attention of the NYSAC in the days after the televised event. Berlanga did his best to downplay the incident.

“He was throwing elbows. I was about to do a Mike Tyson on him. He kept throwing his elbows, and I didn’t want to get cut, ” Berlanga noted immediately after the fight.

The reference was to Tyson’s biting off a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear in their June 1997 rematch, which earned the Hall of Fame former heavyweight champ a one-year suspension and a record $3,000,000 fine as ruled by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Berlanga’s punishment was modest in comparison, as he was issued a six-month suspension and a $10,000 fine less than a week after the fight.

To his credit, Berlanga walked back his own comments and offered a heartfelt apology by that time.

“I want to apologize for my actions and what I said yesterday about the Mike Tyson bite,” Berlanga stated in a two-part tweet on June 12. “I was in the moment and I got a little ahead of myself. It doesn’t take away from the embarrassment that I have caused upon myself, my team, [Top Rank], and many others. I reacted poorly and take full responsibility. Moving forward, I am going to be more mindful and encouraging in my behavior.

“Once again, I do apologize.”

The timing of the forced break left the 25-year-old Brooklyn native of Puerto Rican descent ineligible to appear on a December 10 show at MSG. A boxing event has taken place at MSG immediately following the annual presentation of the Heisman Award honoring the nation’s top college football player nearly every year since 2017, dating back to Top Rank’s exclusive output deal with ESPN.

The lone exception was 2020 during the pandemic, when Top Rank staged its show on that same weekend inside The Bubble at MGM Grand. Berlanga actually appeared on that Vegas show, which produced his sixteenth consecutive first-round knockout—and his last win inside the distance. The charismatic 25-year-old prospect has since gone the distance in four straight ring appearances, including his ten-round victory over Angulo.

Criticism has grown exponentially with each distance fight, to the point of detractors waiting for Berlanga to get bumped off once he is deemed to have sufficiently stepped up in class.

That kind of negative energy only further fuels the super middleweight hopeful.  

“I promise, you’re all gonna be sorry,” Berlanga vowed to his detractors. “You’re gonna eat all your words.”

A specific fight date was not yet revealed for his awaited return, though a meeting with Top Rank over the weekend left the boxer confident of resurfacing sometime in the first quarter of the new year.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox