Oscar De La Hoya posted on social media today, pushing Xander Zayas to agree to a fight against Vergil Ortiz Jr. in Las Vegas on DAZN PPV. De La Hoya argues that Zayas should give up on his plans to defend his WBO junior middleweight title in Puerto Rico.
“It’s so frustrating. Boxing right now is so stale, especially here in America. Fighters don’t want to fight each other,” said Oscar De La Hoya on Instagram. “A perfect example is Xander Zayas.
Oscar’s Plea to Zayas
“We have a perfect fight for you on a silver platter. Pay-per-view, let’s do it in Las Vegas at the MGM, and you keep saying you want to go to Puerto Rico? How? Your promoter [Top Rank] has no TV whatsoever. Where are you going to fight? OnlyFans?” said De La Hoya.
It would be a shock if Top Rank were to make this fight for Zayas, 22, because they’ve been slowly grooming him, trying to turn him into an East Coast star with their matchmaking.
His last fight against Jorge Garcia Perez for the vacant WBO junior middleweight title showed that he’s not capable of fighting in the pocket. Xander’s style is identical to Devin Haney’s, but with a lot of holding involved.
Zayas would be overmatched against Vergil Ortiz Jr, just as he would if he fought Bakhram Murtazaliev, Israil Madrimov, Jaron Ennis, Sebastian Fundora, Yoenis Tellez, Serhii Bohachuk, or Erickson Lubin.
Why Top Rank Won’t Risk Zayas
If Top Rank is going to throw the 22-year-old Xander in a fight he can’t win, it’ll only be one that they can get a massive return on their investment. Vergil Ortiz Jr. isn’t nearly a big enough fight for that to happen, unless Turki Alalshikh were to be involved. Why would he, though? It’s not a big enough fight because Zayas isn’t popular and has that ugly Haney-esque fighting style.
“Dude, we have DAZN. We have the PPV. We have the date. You and Vergil, Mexico vs. Puerto Rico. It’s huge. What are you waiting for? Let’s do this,” said De La Hoya, continuing to try to lure Xander into a fight with Ortiz Jr.
It’s useless, Oscar. Zayas is going to fight whoever Top Rank chooses for him in his first defense of his WBO 154-lb title in December. That person is already rumored to be welterweight Giovani Santillan. He has a record that looks good at first glance at 34-1, but he’s harmless. Xander will easily get past him in his homecoming for his defense at the end of the year in Puerto Rico.
“This era right here, I can’t wait for it to finish. Only the fighters that don’t want to fight and are literally p*****, man. They want to do it for extra millions and this and that. No. Let’s be real here. pay-per-view, DAZN, Vergil Ortiz-Xander Zayas, let’s do it in Las Vegas. What are you waiting for?” said De La Hoya.
De La Hoya Targets Wrong Droid
It’s a lost cause for De La Hoya. He’s going after the wrong droid. What he needs is to target more attainable opponents for Vergil Jr. to defend his WBC 154-lb interim title against. These are more realistic options for Ortiz Jr.
- Serhii Bohachuk
- Erickson Lubin
- Jesus Ramos Jr.
- Israil Madrimov
- Jaron Ennis
- Bakhram Murtazaliev
Last Updated on 08/17/2025
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