Boxing
It couldn't have been scripted any better for Xander Zayas this weekend
Ring VI: López vs Stevenson on DAZN PPV - Saturday
While Vergil Ortiz and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis keep the boxing world in limbo with fruitless negotiations thus far, the rest of the junior middleweight division continues to make moves.
Perhaps no one has greater motion than Xander Zayas and he knows it as evidenced by the toothy grin he flashes across a recent Zoom conference with DAZN News.
After becoming the youngest world champion in men’s boxing at 22 last year, Zayas, now 23, couldn’t have scripted a better start to his 2026 campaign.
As WBO super lightweight world champion Teofimo Lopez defends his title against undefeated Shakur Stevenson at Madison Square Garden, and live on DAZN PPV, on Saturday night, Zayas will share the spotlight from his native San Juan, Puerto Rico on the same evening.
That is where the WBO junior middleweight world champ will clash with WBA titleholder Abass Baraou in a championship unification bout at Coliseo de Puerto Rico.
“I’m a firm believer in things happens for a reason and everything works out the way it needs to work out when it needs to work out,” Zayas tells DAZN News. “I’ve been asking to fight in Puerto Rico for a couple of years now. I waited, I was patient. I kept my head down, I kept working, I kept quiet, and now all the stars are aligned.”
The superstar in the making defeated Jorge Garcia Perez via unanimous decision to claim the vacant WBO 154-pound title in front of a large Puerto Rican contingent at MSG in New York City last July.
Now, he has the chance to become the youngest unified world champion in men’s boxing, too.
That is if Zayas (22-0, 13 KOs) could handle the pressure Baraou (17-1, 9 KOs) throws at him this weekend — something the confident 23-year-old not only fully expects, but welcomes.
“He’s going to try to make me feel uncomfortable with his pressure, but man, I love pressure,” Zayas touts. “I think everybody has been able to see it every time they put a fighter that tries to put pressure, I extinguish that fire.
“I calm those fires down and it’s beautiful and amazing for me to keep making those adjustments and to keep showing I’m getting better.”
As Zayas looks to deliver another convincing victory and grab two of the four titles in the division, IBF junior middleweight world champion Bakhram Murtazaliev will aim to defend his crown against Josh Kelly in Newcastle, England, and live on DAZN, on Saturday night as well, to further shape the 154-pound weight class.
Zayas has heard the chatter of fan and critic matchmakers penciling him in against the likes of Murtazaliev, Ortiz and Ennis, but refuses to look past Baraou who is coming off a points win over Yoenis Tellez to claim the interim WBA title in August before being elevated to full status thereafter.
That, and Zayas wants to ensure he is hoisting two titles by Saturday night’s end in front of his hometown fans in an invaluable opportunity.
“I love what I do. I take it serious every time I do it,” Zayas says with deep dedication in his voice. “Being here at 23 years old about to fight the biggest fight of my life in front of my people for unified titles, I feel like there’s nothing else I could ask for.
“Everything I’ve been asking and saying I can do, it’s finally happening and it’s time that I prove it.”
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