Boxing
Why does boxing need 'Boots'-Zayas more than ever?
Fury vs. Hall: Only on DAZN PPV - Saturday
Did you hear the one about the Dutchman who hadn't won a fight since 2014, lost on his 2026 return and still moved up the heavyweight rankings?
You have now. Rico Verhoeven has officially gone in at number eight with the WBC just a few weeks after his controversial stoppage loss to Oleksandr Usyk.
It's one of those administrative miracles that only boxing seems to provide, with the legendary kickboxer rewarded for defeat, somehow able to climb the ladder.
Don't ask WBC supremo Mauricio Sulaiman et al. to show their workings here. Sanctioning bodies and logic have been uneasy bedfellows for several years now.
Fury and Hall up the tempo
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Boxing rankings are of course among the sport's most imaginative literary works, factual documents better appreciated as experimental fiction or observational comedy.
Consistency is often regarded by those at the top as something of an optional extra, the kind of occasional add-on that leads to much chagrin among fans worldwide
Let us be real for a second, mind you. 2026 has been a weird year for boxing. We've seen some brilliant fights across several divisions thus far, true blue-chip battles.
But several superstars have been hand-picking opponents like they're browsing the yellow-sticker aisle at M&S, with sanctioning bodies happy for the ride - and a nominal sum.
But in an era where crazy decision-making can harm the sport, there are few balms when two undefeated mega-talents arrive willing to put their shiny zero on the line.
Jaron Ennis and Xander Zayas will do that just this month in New York, on DAZN Pay-Per-View and DAZN Ultimate Tier. In an era of normalised crossovers, it feels refreshing.
The pair throw down for the WBO super-welterweight strap on June 27. It's a fight that makes sense, and represents the sort of trade fight the sport desperately requires.
A trade fight, for the uninitiated, is not necessarily the biggest fight commercially available on the market. It's a fight that helps the business of boxing on the whole instead.
It's the kind of fight that persuades casual observers that the sport still rewards ambition, that reminds fans that the best do actually want to test themselves against the best.
It's the kind of fight that creates tomorrow's stars rather than moving them into the sport from other combat codes - and, boy, in Ennis and Zayas, does it ever have two of them.
'Boots', the former welterweight star, can really fight in the best way. He's fast, inventive and carries the sort of confidence usually associated with generational talents.
His foe, the WBA and WBO boss at 154 pounds, is another terrific fighter who follows a proud Puerto Rican lineage of Wilfredo 'Bazooka' Gomez, Felix Trinidad and Miguel Cotto.
Many years ago, another warm June night in the Big Apple served up a culture-clash classic, when the latter tackled Zab Judah in a blockbuster encounter to remember.
The duo's showdown, an explosive back-and-forth affair that thrilled a packed Madison Square Garden, is still spoken about in hushed, reverential tones almost two decades on.
When greatness collides in the ring, boxing transcends mere sport. You can't help but show admiration - particularly for Zayas, outsider despite his titles - for taking the challenge.
The star is young and could have marked time making his title defences in low-risk-turned-mediocre-reward fights where he would be a prohibitive favourite in the betting lines.
Matchroom Boxing
Instead, he's daring to be great against a star many have tipped to be among the top American fighters of his generation - and that's the attitude the sport needs more than ever.
Everybody sitting around, waiting to become a star, is the reason why the sport has so few of them on a genuine level, especially when you comapre it to boxing's golden age.
In boxing, you become somebody by beating somebody. There's no other way.
There was a collective groan when the mega-fight between Ennis and Vergil Ortiz Jr. collapsed a few months ago. 'Boots' could have been left without a meaningful dance partner.
Instead, Zayas stepped up. Eddie Hearn, in April, feted him, stating: “We need guys like [him] because I think he’s insane in taking this fight. But he’s got a big set of cojones.”
You build fighters to eventually let them fight. Not next year, not after tune-ups, not after legal departments approve the gloves and the weather forecast. Let. Them. Fight.
You want a hyper-aggressive Philadelphia phenomenon head-to-head against a fearlessly ambitious champion who can do a bit of everything? Take our money.
Zayas’s high-volume, sharp-moving, punch-in-combination wizardry should gel with the pocket-fighting swagger of Ennis. Together, they offer something boxing needs - jeopardy.
(Top Rank Boxing)
Not manufactured jeopardy, but real jeopardy. Not the kind where promoters tell you that a washed ex-lightweight moving three weight classes is a genuine threat. Actual jeopardy.
Ennis has such a high ceiling. He has the speed, smarts, athleticism and versatility to become a global superstar if he gets the right fights.
Zayas has youth, momentum, and the curious habit of improving every time people think they’ve figured him out.
The sport has spent years searching for ways to attract new audiences. The solution isn't hidden in promoter beef, influencer partnerships or marketing strategy.
It involves putting two gifted young men in a ring and allowing them to fight for the biggest prizes. For those who love the sport, June 27 can’t come quick enough.
Watch Fury vs. Hall exclusively on DAZN
'The Beauty' Tommy Fury fights the 'The Beast' Eddie Hall on a great Misfits fight night on Saturday, June 13, exclusively live on DAZN. Buy as a one-off PPV or included, along with Zayas vs. Ennis (June 27), Joshua vs. Prenga (July 25) and Canelo vs. M'billi (Sept 12) PPVs, with a DAZN Ultimate Tier subscription.
