Edgar Berlanga officially has a loss on his ledger, but he doesn’t necessarily see it that way following a unanimous decision defeat against Canelo Alvarez in September.

Although Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs) was dropped and beaten by boxing’s biggest star, he’s still holding his head up high heading into a tune-up tilt Saturday against Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz (20-0-1, 16 KOs) at the Caribe Royale in Orlando.

“I'm happy that I got the experience with a legend. It was the most important thing for me in my career. I changed the mindsets of a lot of people,” Berlanga told The Ring in an interview. “It was the first time in my career that I was having fun in the ring. I enjoyed the fight. We were talking sh!t and taunting each other. It was like two brothers fighting each other.

“My confidence is on another level now. I feel like I went from middle school to college, from one day to the next. It was a game-changer for me. I never experienced so much hate in my life and I feel that I took it well. It was a double win that night. I won over the fans. It was a spectacular fight. It was definitely a dope experience for me.”

The Brooklyn-born Puerto Rican even received a hero's welcome back home despite the defeat.

“As soon as I went to Puerto Rico, they called me and said they wanted to do a ride out because they wanted to embrace me and let the people know that they have a future world champion, just like Felix Trinidad,” said Berlanga. “I put it on for my island. I put on for my people, at my lowest point.”

Berlanga believes the Gonzalez-Ortiz bout is a knock on his profile considering the caliber of competition and the co-main event slot he’s been given on the smaller-scale show.

The matchup will mark the last fight of Berlanga’s Matchroom Boxing deal, and the 27-year-old knockout artist feels disrespected by promoter Eddie Hearn that he wasn’t delivered a main event showcase as was originally planned.

Berlanga, rated No. 9 by The Ring, plans to face Jaime Munguia, Caleb Plant, or Jermall Charlo later this year.