Xander Zayas battles Jorge Garcia Perez for the vacant WBO junior middleweight title this Saturday, July 26th, at Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City. Saturday’s event will be shown on ESPN and ESPN+ at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
Xander Zayas Title Opportunity
Jorge Garcia (33-4, 26 KOs) has a real shot at defeating Zayas if he can get to him often enough to land his shots. He has the superior offensive skills, but he’ll need more than that to get to Zayas. The Puerto Rican-born Zayas has a Shakur-esque style to him.
It’s not much fun to watch Zayas at times, but the style has worked for him against the low-level opposition that his promoters at Top Rank have matched him against. They’ve given Zayas the Edgar Berlanga tomato can treatment, pitting him against strictly beatable opposition.
The 22-year-old Zayas (21-0, 13 KOs) has been fast-tracked by Top Rank to the #1 spot with their maneuvering. Xander had hoped to face Sebastian Fundora when he still held the title, but he vacated it to take the lucrative rematch with Tim Tszyu. Fundora said last Saturday that he wants to reclaim his WBO title by fighting the winner of the Zayas vs. Garcia fight.
“I’m really excited to fight for my first world title,” said Xander Zayas to Fighthype about his clash this Saturday against Jorge Garcia. “He’s a warrior. I think he’s on an eight-fight winning streak. He’s experienced. He earned his spot for the world title.”
Garcia’s Path to Title
Garcia, 28, got pushed to the #2 spot with the WBO after defeating Charles Conwell by a 12-round split decision last April in a big upset. That was supposed to have been a sure-thing win for Conwell going into the fight, but Garcia surprised him with his body punching and inside fighting ability.
“I think I’m better than him in every aspect of the game,” said Zayas about Garcia. “A better IQ, better defense, better speed. He goes to the body a lot, good speed, and he applies a lot of pressure. I’ve been perfect, and I’ve been doing that for 21 fights. I don’t feel the pressure. I’m going to come out victorious.”
Zayas is not better than Garcia in the offensive skills department. Unlike Garcia, Zayas has no power and relies on his defense to win fights. Xander also doesn’t have a great chin either, as he’s been hurt in the past. He’s the opposite of Puerto Rican stars Miguel Cotto and Felix Trinidad. Zayas is more like a bigger version of Shakur Stevenson.
Zayas vs. Fundora Future
“After I come out victorious on July 26th, it’s something we can still make happen,” said Zayas about a fight between him and Sebastian Fundora. “It can still be a bigger fight because now, we’ll both be world champions. There are ways to beat him.
Last Updated on 07/21/2025
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