Xander Zayas has revealed his three-fighter hitlist of who he’d most like to fight at 154. These are the three on Zayas’ list from top to bottom:
- Vergil Ortiz Jr.
- Sebastian Fundora
- Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis
Zayas (22-0, 13 KOs) captured the vacant WBO junior middleweight title last month, beating Jorge Garcia on July 26th. Despite Garcia looking slow and horrible, Zayas had a lot of problems beating him.
Top Rank’s Zayas Strategy
You could tell from watching the fight that this is the best that Xander can do. He can’t beat fighters better than the level of Jorge Garcia. He lacks the power, and he shows an unwillingness to engage. The amount of holding that Zayas did against Garcia was the most I’ve ever seen from a fighter without being penalized or disqualified. It was extreme.
Zayas’ promoters at Top Rank aren’t expected to allow any of those three from his list to fight him. Instead, he’s rumored to be defending against the fringe welterweight contender Giovani Santillan in December in a homecoming to Puerto Rico.
“Vergil Ortiz #1, Sebastian Fundora and Boots Ennis,” said Xander Zayas to DAZN Boxing, rating who he prefers to fight next. “Vergil Ortiz, I feel is going to be a huge fight here on the East Coast for Puerto Rico and Mexico. Him being from Mexico, me being from Puerto Rico, fighting a lot in New York. I feel that being on the East Coast would be a crazy fight.”
“The same thing with Boots on the East Coast. His being a former world champion and is moving up in weight class. I got to see him at 154 first. 147 is a whole different story. That’s why I picked him at this,” said Zayas.
The Weak Link at 154
It would be difficult for Ennis if he immediately fought one of the quality junior middleweights in his first fight in the new weight class. But it wouldn’t be a problem at all if Boots fought Xander Zayas in his first fight at 154, because he’s not one of the talented fighters. He’s more of a paper champion type of fighter. He’s like the Mario Barios of the 154-lb division. In other words, Zayas is the weakest link.
Ennis would easily beat Xander if given the chance, which he won’t. Top Rank won’t allow that and likely never will. It doesn’t matter how long Boots fights at 154. He’s not going to be given the chance to fight Zayas unless someone like Turki Alalshikh gets involved and offers Xander crazy money.
“The second one, Sebastian Fundora, I picked him because I was the mandatory, and I felt that fight was going to happen. So, I still want to showcase that I can beat him,” said Xander.
It’s doubtful that Top Rank will pit Xander against Fundora, as the outcome would almost surely be bad for their fighter. They’re trying to turn Zayas into a star in New York by selectively matching him in the same way they did Edgar Berlanga. If they let Zayas fight Fundora, he would ruin that permanently, as would Ennis and Vergil Ortiz Jr.
Last Updated on 08/05/2025
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