Six years after turning pro as a baby-faced 17-year-old, Xander Zayas (21-0, 13 KOs) finally gets his coronation shot. The 22-year-old Puerto Rican sensation will battle red-hot spoiler Jorge Garcia (33-4, 26 KOs) for the vacant WBO junior-middleweight title in the same Garden theater where Miguel Cotto began his New York takeover two decades ago.
Zayas’ rise has been methodical: seven straight NABO defenses, shut-outs of Damian Sosa and ex-champ Patrick Teixeira, and February’s brutal nine-round dismissal of German puncher Slawa Spomer. Trainer Javiel Centeno says the game plan against Garcia “mixes Cotto’s body work with Tito’s aggression”—but the stakes are clear: win, and Zayas becomes Puerto Rico’s youngest male champion since Cotto; lose, and the island waits again.
Watch Zayas vs. Spomer highlights: Watch
Garcia, though, is no gatekeeper. The 29-year-old from Aguascalientes has ripped off eight victories in 23 months, each nastier than the last, culminating in April’s split-decision stunner over unbeaten Olympian Charles Conwell. A rangy switch-hitter with a looping overhand right, Garcia relishes hostile territory—he’s iced opponents in the Dominican Republic and South Africa and vows Manhattan will be “just another road stop.” His 26 knockouts hint that Zayas’ chin will be tested early and often; his confidence suggests Conwell was no fluke. “Mexico will have a new champion,” Garcia warned. “He’s TV-ready, but I’m belt-ready.”
Before the junior-middleweights settle matters, the featherweight division inches toward clarity as Brooklyn’s Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) meets unbeaten Namibian Mateus Heita (14-0, 9 KOs) for the WBC interim belt. Carrington has pleaded for big names after wrecking veterans Bernard Torres, Jose Enrique Vivas and Dana Coolwell, yet champions keep swiping left. A slick counterpuncher with sudden power, he’s banking on a statement to force titles into his path. Heita, a tall, disciplined boxer-puncher and WBO Africa titlist, believes Carrington is all hype: “There’s nothing special about him - just another step toward greatness.” Both men insist a definitive win delivers a mandatory crack at Rey Vargas or Luis Lopez before year’s end.
Watch Carrington vs. De Gracia highlights: Watch
Stylistically, it could steal the show. Carrington prefers mid-range angles and punches in bunches; Heita fights behind a long jab, then drops thudding rights when opponents overcommit. Whoever solves the range equation first likely pockets the green belt—and instantly becomes one of boxing’s most marketable coasts-to-coast attractions.
The televised opener features knockout-machine Emiliano Vargas (14-0, 12 KOs) versus rugged Alexander Espinoza (20-3-1, 9 KOs), while ESPN+ streamers will catch Juanmita López De Jesús and U.S. amateur phenom Julius “JuJu” Ballo.
Main card:
▪️Xander Zayas vs. Jorge Garcia Perez, 12 rounds, for the vacant WBO World super welterweight title
▪️Bruce Carrington vs. Mateus Heita, 12 rounds, for the WBC interim World featherweight title
▪️Emiliano Vargas vs. Alexander Espinoza, 8 rounds, super lightweight
Prelims:
▪️Juanmita Lopez De Jesus vs. Jorge Gonzalez-Sanchez, 4 rounds, junior bantamweight
▪️Julius Ballo vs. Brandan Ayala, 4 rounds, featherweight
