Xander Zayas (22-0, 13 KOs) says he’s open to a unification fight against one of the other champions at 154 after capturing the vacant WBO junior middleweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision win over Jorge Garcia (33-5, 26 KOs) last Saturday night at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City.
Fundora, Murtazaliev: Zayas Target
Zayas, 22, mentioned WBC champion Sebastian Fundora and IBF champ Bakhram Murtazaliev as fighters he’d be interested in fighting. However, he doesn’t pick his opponents. That’s done by his promoters at Top Rank.
“He shouldn’t have vacated it in the first place. That’s all I have to say,” said Xander Zayas at the post-fight press conference when told that Sebastian Fundora wants his old WBO 154-lb title back. “He knows where to contact us.
It sounds like Zayas might not choose to fight Fundora. He can fight someone else, but he’s going to lose his WBO title soon unless Top Rank can continue with their careful matchmaking. They’re the ones that manufactured Xander, pitting him against no-names, and then lucking out with the WBO ranking Jorge Garcia as #2 rather than one of the sharks.
Unless the money for a unification fight against Fundora or Bakhram Murtazaliev is absurdly high, Top Rank will pick a bottom-feeder for Zayas to defend his WBO title against. A predictable next opponent for Xander is #3 WBO Josh Kelly. He has no power and has been around forever. He’s infinitely beatable for Zayas.
The reason Fundora vacated his WBO title is that he had the opportunity to fight Tim Tszyu in a lucrative rematch for bigger money than what he would have gotten if he had defended against Zayas. It wasn’t that he was afraid of him. He wanted the bigger payday.
“Whoever. I heard that Bakhram [Murtazaliev] is looking for an opponent. Sebastian Fundora wants his belt back. So, anybody in the division can get it now. There’s no running now. I’m a world champion, and I have what they want.” said Zayas.
Xander is talking crazy, bringing up IBF 154-lb champion Bakhram Murtazaliev. There’s no way on Earth that he or his promoters at Top Rank would take the fight with the unbeaten IBF champion Murtazaliev.
There’s no amount of holding and moving that he could do that would work against Murtazaliev. He’s too strong. All the nonstop clinching that Xander did tonight wouldn’t prevent Bakhram from getting one hand free and clubbing Zayas into submission.
Top Rank has built Xander’s career with their careful match-making. They’re not going to let Murtazaliev ruin their handwork. They maneuvered him in the same way they did Edgar Berlanga with the tomato can matchmaking. If Edgar hadn’t left the company, they probably would have found a way to turn him into a champion like they did with Zayas. It’s all matchmaking. It’s not about talent.
Last Updated on 07/27/2025
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