That confidence came after a tense read of the cards. One judge had it 116-112 for Baraou. Two returned the same score for Zayas. He admitted the wait got to him. “When I heard the decision, I was a bit scared,” he said. “But to be honest, I felt I pulled it off. I won at least eight or nine rounds. Maybe he got three or four.”
Zayas detailed the problem he had to solve mid-fight. “I hurt my left hand in the ninth round,” he said. “I was jabbing a lot and he has a hard head, so I hurt my jab hand. But I figured it out, like all champs do. Champions find a way to win.”
Zayas worked off his feet, jabbed, and scored with short combinations, letting Baraou press and overreach. When Baraou found success with right hands in the fifth, Zayas stayed disciplined. In the ninth, a clean right hand wobbled Baraou and briefly pulled Zayas into exchanges. He corrected course and boxed well to the end.
Baraou accepts the result without complaint
Baraou offered no dispute afterward. “Congrats to him,” he said. “I’m proud of his performance. He beat me fair and square. He deserves it. I will come back stronger.”
Zayas now holds two belts at 154, which tightens mandatory timelines and raises the price of every decision. His own words point to growth under pressure rather than dominance without cost. Hurt hand. Close cards. Adjustments made in real time.
Against seasoned junior middleweights who cut the ring and keep the pace high, those adjustments will need to arrive earlier. The belts say unified champion. His comments say a fighter still learning how to close rounds without letting judges into it. The next defense will test whether that lesson sticks when the pressure starts sooner and the margins shrink.
Read the full article here