Xander Zayas’ WBO Title Defense Strategy: Why Josh Kelly is the Predicted December Opponent

Fans predict that Xander Zayas will make his first defense of his WBC junior middleweight title against #3 Josh Kelly in December in Puerto Rico. It’s a fight that fits Top Rank’s protective approach toward Zayas’ career.

Kelly Matchup Expected

Josh Kelly (17-1-1, 9 KOs) isn’t a threat to beating Xander compared to the fighters that he mentioned last Saturday after his victory over Jorge Garcia. The British fighter, Kelly, has won his last seven fights against domestic-level opposition since being knocked out by David Avanesyan in 2021. Kelly showed that he hadn’t improved much over the previous four years when he came close to losing to Ishmael Davis last September.

Zayas (22-0, 13 KOs) expressed interest in fighting WBC champion Sebastian Fundora, IBF champ Bakhram Murtazaliev, and interim WBC champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. Those are all fights that Zayas would likely lose quite badly.

Fundora is the one that Zayas talked of wanting to fight the most. He doesn’t fit into the likely title-milking plan that Top Rank will have for Xander. They’ve built him in the same way they did with Edgar Berlanga, matching him against cans. He’s essentially Berlanga 2.0 with how Top Rank has gone about matching him. He’s just as vulnerable as Edgar. The only difference is that Zayas really is from Puerto Rico. He’s not posing.

Astronomical Offer Needed

#4 WBO Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis is a fighter that fans would like to see Zayas fight, but that has no chance of happening without his promoter, Eddie Hearn, making an astronomical offer. It would have to be an unreal number, likely in the $10 million range, because Top Rank wouldn’t make such a fight knowing that Zayas would lose.

However, they wouldn’t turn down a crazy offer like that. That’s money that Xander will never see in his career without holding onto his WBO title for many years. That would be impossible given his limited ability.

If Turki Alalshikh were to come through for Hearn, he could come up with the money to set up a fight between Zayas and Ennis for one of his Riyadh Season events. However, Top Rank might drag their feet, wanting to keep Zayas protected to continue building a record against lesser opposition. They’ve done a great job thus far with Zayas, as they guided him to a world title without him fighting any solid fighters.