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Add FightsATW on GoogleIt was probably one of the most action-packed, edge-of-your-seat seven-round fights this year. At the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Xander Zayas (23-1, 13 KOs) and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis (36-0, 32 KOs) put on a show for those in attendance and for viewers watching live on DAZN PPV. Ennis came out victorious with a dominant seventh-round TKO on Saturday night. If there were ever any questions about his pound-for-pound status, he answered them with authority, becoming a two-division unified world champion.
When the bell rang to begin the fight, the crowd at the Barclays Center was on its feet, making a ton of noise. Ennis decided he needed to test not only himself but also Zayas’ power right from the start. Ennis flashed that elite hand speed and, after hitting Zayas with a four- to five-punch combination, the thought that came to mind was not if, but when Ennis would stop Zayas. The first round saw that hand speed deliver the first knockdown of the fight as Zayas could not keep up with the punches coming at him.
Zayas was on shaky legs in the second round as Ennis continued to tee off on him, but Zayas held his ground and kept enough distance to avoid further damage. The third round was a “Round of the Year” candidate as Zayas hurt Ennis with a right hand and the crowd went wild. Just as things appeared to be leaning in favor of Zayas, as he looked to score a knockdown of his own, Ennis landed an uppercut that hurt Zayas toward the end of the round.
Ennis continued to sharpshoot Zayas from midrange while also deflating him with vicious hooks to the body. Zayas abandoned what had gotten him to this fight: his legs. Instead, he chose to fight at close range, a big mistake. In the fifth round, Ennis scored another knockdown, and Zayas, at this point, was desperately trying to hold on after beating the ten-count.
Ennis took the sixth round off, and in the seventh, he turned the volume of his offense way up, and Zayas had no answer for it. After being knocked down again, Zayas looked at his corner, and they went up on the apron and stopped the fight.
Just like that, Ennis became a unified junior middleweight champion. After the fight, Ennis deferred to his promoter, Eddie Hearn, on who he would fight next, with Hearn throwing out names like Vergil Ortiz Jr., Sebastian Fundora, and Josh Kelly.
Prior to entering this fight, there were still questions about Ennis and his standing as a pound-for-pound fighter. Until now, there hadn’t been a fight that proved Ennis could raise his game to an even higher level when the risk was at its highest. On Saturday night, Ennis proved he is an elite talent against an undefeated unified champion, and when the Ring Magazine P4P rankings come out on Monday, I fully expect to see his name somewhere in the top ten.
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