Was Xander Zayas’ Performance Enough To Capture Fans’ Imagination?

On Saturday night, NYC was buzzing as it was the eve of the Puerto Rican Day Parade and one of boxing’s young stars, Xander Zayas (19-0, 12 KOs) from San Juan, PR, was headlining the event. Hours before the event, the Madison Square Garden was already buzzing as Billy Joel was performing on the same night to a sold-out crowd. Zayas would fight at the Theater inside MSG, making for a big crowd on Saturday night. He would earn the victory, but was it enough for his profile to rise enough to challenge some of the division’s best?

Walking inside the Theater with the first fight starting shortly after, the venue was about 70% full, which was impressive given that most boxing events don’t start filling up until much later in the night. The crowd wasted no time being loud as NYPD’s (New York Police Department) own Nisa Rodriguez was first to fight. About the third fight, the Theater was already full. Once the cameras went to Zayas entering the building during one of the card’s breaks, a roar came from the fans, and the energy levels were now through the roof. To add to the hype were celebrities Rosie Perez, Liev Schreiber, boxing legend Roberto Duran, and undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue, who were all in attendance. It was all leading to a big night, and all that remained was for Zayas to come out and perform.

Zayas Looked Good But Struggled to Make Adjustments

Once Zayas came out of the tunnel and was seen by everyone in attendance, the Theater went nuts for their Puerto Rican prince. When Zayas finally made it into the ring, he took an exaggerated deep breath as if he needed to relax from overwhelming emotions. Once the fight began, Zayas started out quickly and appeared to be looking to give the fans their pound of flesh early, but the former world champion Patrick Teixeira had far too much experience to provide Zayas with that type of “rub.”

Left-handed fighters, they’re the worst. They try to come in there with that big left. Right’s no damn good. They ought to outlaw southpaws! – Burgess Meredith in Rocky II

Zayas quickly discovered what the character Mickey in the Rocky films was talking about. The veteran Teixeira made the appropriate adjustments and shifted his body slightly in spots to land the straight left hand down the middle along with the left hook. Zayas was landing his punches at will, but after the first three rounds and Teixeira made his adjustments, Zayas became a little hesitant. Teixeira was countering well and would punch with Zayas in spots, which appeared to not sit well with the 21-year-old junior middleweight.

Zayas was able to cut off the ring at times, but he mostly followed Teixeira around the ring. He was able to land the left hooks to the body, change the level of his punches, and land the big overhand right, but Teixeira was able to weather the storm. That’s what will happen at the next level, and Zayas has to adjust his game plan when he cannot produce a knockout. Zayas did get the unanimous decision and had a solid outing, but it wasn’t the performance that would capture your imagination and see him against guys like Jermell Charlo, Charles Conwell, Tim Tszyu, etc.

What Is Next For Zayas?

That was the big question after his fight, as social media began to question whether he was ready for the next level or if the brakes should get pressed instead. Zayas called out Josh Kelley and Erickson Lubin as guys he can face, or even the newly signed Vito Mielnicki Jr. A fight that could be a good solid test next would be against former WBO junior middleweight champion Brain Castano. Yes, Castano hadn’t fought since 2022, when he lost to Charlo, but he would be a significant step up and a fight that could fill in the time before looking at potentially a top-five fighter.

Zayas has some work to do, and Top Rank isn’t in any rush as time is on their side but getting him to the big room at the Garden in June may have to wait until 2025 or maybe even 2026. Zayas could benefit from leaving South Florida and traveling to Las Vegas or Los Angeles for top sparring if he isn’t getting it at his home gym. Time will tell if Zayas can continue to grow and eventually become not only a world champion but also a Puerto Rican star.

Abraham Gonzalez

Abraham Gonzalez is the founder of FightsATW. His journalistic work has been published and used across several platforms to include online, network TV and promotional companies. He is an American Public University alumnus and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). Abraham was the Managing Editor for NYFights, Big Fight Weekend, contributed to FanSidedMMA and ProBoxTV.

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