Boots Ennis stops Xander Zayas in seventh round thriller
Jaron Ennis stopped Xander Zayas in the seventh round Saturday night in Brooklyn after a back-and-forth battle that saw both men hit the canvas.
According to MMA Mania, Ennis dropped the Puerto Rican contender in the opening frame and continued to press, though Zayas weathered the early assault. The second round brought more punishment for Zayas, who absorbed clean shots that snapped his head back repeatedly.
Zayas rallies before Ennis regains control
The third round flipped the script when Zayas landed a heavy left hand that stunned Ennis. He poured on combinations in search of the finish, but the referee interrupted the action to issue a warning, giving Ennis crucial seconds to recover. Zayas pushed forward again but could not close the show before the bell.
After Zayas claimed the fourth, Ennis answered with a brutal uppercut in the fifth that put the 23-year-old down for a second time. Zayas barely beat the count and looked visibly compromised, yet survived another round of heavy fire. Ennis controlled the sixth before turning up the heat in the seventh, landing body shots and hooks that forced Zayas to take a knee. His corner immediately stopped the contest.
Ennis improves to 36-0 and captures the WBO and WBA welterweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light middleweight straps. The win positions him for a potential clash with WBC interim titleholder Virgil Ortiz, who carries a 24-0 record. That matchup has been discussed for months but stalled when Ortiz became entangled in a legal dispute with promoter Oscar de la Hoya, per the report.
Original reporting:
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