Puerto Rican Xander Zayas Tipped For A Bright Future
Xander Zayas, the Puerto Rican junior middleweight, has been tipped to have a bright future.
The 22-year-old is currently with Top Rank, as they have navigated his career to 20-0, with 12 KOs to his name. He turned professional when he was just 17 after having had a successful amateur career. He won over 130 amateur bouts from 2007-2018, including eleven national championship tournaments and the U.S. Youth National Championships. He took up boxing as a way to defend himself against bullies. He would win his first amateur bout at six, winning his next 19. That hard work paid off as he picked up the Puerto Rican national title five times.
His boxing hero was Miguel Cotto. He was also fond of other Puerto Rican fighters such as Tito Trinidad, Hector Macho Camacho and Wilfredo Benitez. But he did suffer some setbacks in his rise. His initial trainer died, as he then worked with Javiel Centeno. The change in trainer, however, worked a treat, as Zayas developed a style that made him more economical, composed, and technical. He eventually made his professional debut against Genesis Wynn, who was undefeated. Zayas would knock him out in the first round, announcing himself on the world stage.
His second fight would end similarly, stopping Virgel Windfield in the opening round. Zayas would make his home debut against Marklin Bailey, winning in front of his home fans in a third-round TKO. 2021 was a big year, as he would box six times, showing his mass activity. He has boxed twice this year, winning against Patrick Teixeira and Damian Sosa in his last fight. The current champions in his division are Terence Crawford (WBA), Sebastian Fundora (WBO and WBC) and Bakhram Murtazaliev (IBF).
Zayas’ Future
Zayas is ranked number one in the WBO rankings. He is also ranked number four in the WBC rankings, meaning he is close to a title shot against Fundora. He is also fifth in the IBF rankings for Murtazaliev’s belt. But since Zayas is 22, he arguably needs more experience before he is ready for those big names. He also does not have the biggest KO ratio, with only 12 stoppages out of 20. He may find it difficult to get the respect of the big hitters in the division. But moving forward, the aim is to win a world title.
“I feel like, of course, I do the service job, but for some of these guys, it’s like, high bridge, low reward. So, I know it’s gonna take a lot more than just beating Damon Sosa. I gotta fight some other guys to make that happen. But, yes, I feel like I’m ready. I feel like I deserve that shot. I’m a name that a lot of people like watching. So, I do deserve the shot, but I know some of these guys are not gonna want to fight me right now,” Zayas said
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