When Xander Zayas signed with Top Rank as a 16-year-old prodigy, he mapped out a path that led, inevitably, to a world-title night in New York City. On Saturday, inside Madison Square Garden’s Theater, the unbeaten Puerto Rican (21-0, 13 KOs) meets Mexico’s Jorge Garcia (33-4, 26 KOs) for the vacant WBO super-welterweight crown, exactly in the time frame he once predicted. Zayas says he always wanted “at least twenty fights” before a title challenge; this is bout number twenty-two, at age twenty-two, and he believes “all the stars are aligning.”
The road has not been without detours. Zayas became mandatory for Sebastian Fundora’s belt after watching the six-foot-six “Towering Inferno” flatten Chordale Booker in March. Talks fizzled, Fundora vacated to honour a Tim Tszyu rematch, and Zayas was left chasing a title without defeating a reigning champion. Disappointed but pragmatic, he calls it “business at the end of the day.” If he wins on Saturday, Zayas hopes a Fundora unification can still materialise.
Watch Zayas vs. Fortea full fight: Watch
First he must solve the sturdy Garcia, who upset Charles Conwell by split decision in April and rides an eight-fight streak. Zayas respects the threat - Garcia has never been stopped - but points to his own measured dismantling of Patrick Teixeira and, more recently, Slawa Spomer, as evidence he is ready for any style. Saturday also serves as the final Top Rank Boxing on ESPN show, a timing quirk Zayas views as a graduation ceremony for the brand-building campaign that has seen him headline MSG cards and grow a fervent Puerto Rican following.
Image Credit: The Ring