The matchup has sparked second-guessing because Berlanga is the clearest and most attractive title on the card. If ticket sales disappoint, most of the attention will naturally fall on him, regardless of who has chosen Butler as his opponent.
It is not clear whether Berlanga and his manager, Keith Connelly, pushed the fight or Zuffa Boxing made the final decision. That distinction is important.
If Team Berlanga was looking for an opponent to build confidence after losing in the fifth round to Hamzah Sheeraz last July in Queens, the decision is understandable. Berlanga was completely outclassed and quit after boldly predicting victory, making the safe fight a logical step to rebuild his confidence.
If Zuffa is committed to performing, however, it may be underestimating what fans wanted from their New York debut.
Dana White has repeatedly said that Zuffa Boxing aims to make big and meaningful fights. Berlanga vs. Butler wasn't seen by many fans as fitting that description, especially after Berlanga's one-sided loss to Sheeraz cooled the momentum he had built up despite his previous loss to Canelo Alvarez.
The biggest problem would be that Zuffa tried to achieve two different goals in one battle.
Berlanga needed an opponent who could come back after being blocked by Sheeraz. At the same time, he was also asked to talk about the New York debut and call for ticket sales. Those goals don't go hand in hand.
A rebuilding fight can make sense for a fighter's career, but it doesn't create the urgency that convinces fans to buy tickets weeks in advance.
If Berlanga had faced Butler in a joint conference under a strong main event, there would have been far less criticism. Instead, he has become the face of the event, putting the spotlight on a matchup that many fans see as lacking meaningful stakes.
With nearly three weeks to go before fight night, ticket sales still have time to ramp up. But if attendance falls short of expectations, the decision to put Zuffa Boxing in New York for the first time with Berlanga vs. Butler is likely to remain up for debate.
Former IBF light welterweight champion Richardson Hitchins is also featured on the card, making his Zuffa Boxing debut against Ricardo Salas. Like Berlanga, Hitchins is a Brooklyn native, giving Zuffa two hometown fighters to market in New York.
If the promotion believed that the combination of Berlanga and Hitchins would be enough to drive ticket sales, early gains suggest that speculation may have missed the mark.
Hitchins' marketing may also be affected by the events surrounding his canceled title defense against Oscar Duarte on February 21. Hitchins withdrew due to illness, but many fans on social media questioned the timing and thought he had little thoughts about facing Duarte. There has never been any evidence to support those claims, but the idea took hold and generated criticism that may have done little to improve his painting abilities.
Even before the cancellation, Hitchins had never established himself as a major ticket seller despite his technical prowess. A matchup with Berlanga, another fighter coming off a devastating loss and facing an opponent considered taller, may not have created the kind of big event needed to generate strong demand for Zuffa Boxing's first show in New York.
