Edgar Berlanga scores monster KO in first post-Canelo bout; Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams shines in main event

Austin “Ammo” Williams earned the best win of his career in his first main event slot.

Williams won a unanimous decision (118-110, 116-112, 115-113) over Canada’s Patrice Volny to win the WBA Continental Americas championship on Saturday evening in their battle of middleweight contenders at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida. Williams, ranked No. 7 with the WBA prior to Saturday’s event, is expected to target a fight next with the WBA middleweight champion, Cuba’s Erislandy Lara.

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Although it was Volny (19-2, 13 KOs) who landed the cleaner shots, Williams (18-1, 12 KOs) outworked him through the 12-round distance to win the decision. Williams’ success came in combinations, while Volny — who fought behind a high, tight guard — was content connecting with one or two punches at a time.

Williams, 28, was urged by his corner to set a frenetic pace in the fight, which they believed Volny could not cope with. This spurred the American to pour pressure onto Volny and push him back. Volny failed to match Williams’ tempo, and when the fight was close, Williams seemed to want to win more.

It was an improved performance from the newly crowned champion. Williams has looked flawed in previous outing, but on Saturday night, he managed to tighten up his defense and make the necessary adjustments to grind out a tough win and put himself in line for another major fight.

“This is what we trained for,” Williams said. “A hard fight, tough guys who want to win. He had never been stopped before. I was going for it, but my maturity told me I can’t go and blast out and get caught with something. I learned from doing that. I had to beat him strategically.”

Edgar Berlanga returned to his winning ways in the night’s co-feature.

Berlanga took out Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz in the opening round in his first fight since a wide unanimous decision defeat to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez for the unified super middleweight titles this past September.

Berlanga (23-1, 18 KOs) landed a monster left hook to floor Gonzalez-Ortiz with just over one minute to go in the first round. Gonzalez-Ortiz (20-1-1, 16 KOs) got to his feet right away, but a three-punch combination culminating in a chopping right hand quickly sent him to the canvas again.

Berlanga landed another big left hook on Gonzalez-Ortiz, which pushed him back onto the ropes, and at that point, referee Chris Young stepped in to stop the contest.

Berlanga called out Jaime Munguia, Jermall Charlo, Caleb Plant and Alvarez for a rematch in his post-fight interview as he enters free agency following his final fight with Matchroom Boxing.

Berlanga and Gonzalez-Ortiz were supposed to vie for the vacant WBO NABO super middleweight title, however Berlanga became ineligible to win the belt after missing weight by 1.6 pounds.

Elsewhere on the card, 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Omari Jones made a successful hometown professional debut. Jones (1-0, 1 KO) scored a 2nd-round TKO win over Alessio Mastronunzio (14-6, 4 KOs).

“The Banger” landed accurate, fast combinations from the opening bell. He found a home in particular for his long right hand, which could not miss on Mastronunzio’s chin. Twenty seconds into the second round, Jones connected with a four-punch combination that included a strong right hand and a left hook, prompting referee Luis Pabon to stop the fight.

Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn, who promotes Jones, confirmed in the post-fight interview that the Olympian will return to action in just four weeks, on the April 12 undercard for Jaron “Boots” Ennis vs. Eimantas Stanionis.

Check out full Williams vs. Volny results below.

• Middleweight: Austin Williams def. Patrice Volny via unanimous decision (118-110, 116-112, 115-113)

• Super middleweight: Edgar Berlanga def. Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz via first-round TKO | Watch finish

• Super welterweight: Omari Jones def. Alessio Mastronunzio via second-round TKO | Watch finish

• Super lightweight: Jamaine Ortiz def. Yomar Alamo via unanimous decision (99-91, 98-92, 99-91)