One of the most significant fights in quite some time on the island of Puerto Rico takes place Saturday night as WBO junior middleweight champion Xander Zayas (22-0, 13 KOs) faces WBA champion Abass Baraou (17-1, 9 KOs) live on the Top Rank FAST channels (Roku Channel, Tubi, or Vizio).
With so much at stake Saturday night in San Juan, what must each man do to win, and who will have their hand raised in the end?
Xander Zayas & The Opportunity He’s Been After Since Turning Pro
On Saturday night, Zayas, who is only 23 years old, has an opportunity to not only become a unified champion at junior middleweight but also do so in his hometown of San Juan. The great ones from Felix Trinidad to Miguel Cotto were never able to do that, and they are considered legends among Puerto Rican and boxing fans alike. A win puts him in the driver’s seat at 154, and that would leave only two other titles remaining before he becomes the first male Puerto Rican undisputed champion.
With the pressure of an entire island on his back, how does Zayas navigate through it all and beat Baraou on Saturday night? Conditioning will be the key for Zayas, who will need to use every bit of it to evade Baraou’s swarming offense. The stiff left jab and quick overhand right he displayed in the Jorge Garcia fight in July 2025 will help open things up.
Due to Baraou’s high guard defense that he sometimes employs, Zayas should throw left and right hooks to the body and work to break down Baraou, who has never been stopped in his career. I can see most of Baraou’s past opponents fall into the trap of trying to slug with him instead of methodically breaking him down. If Zayas can stay disciplined and avoid moving around the ring too much, he could have a chance to stop Baraou. At a minimum, a focused offense with his combinations while not staying in the pocket too long should lead him to victory.
Abass Baraou Wants To Make This Opportunity Into Everything
It’s rare for the champion in a fight to come in as a solid betting underdog, but in this case, Zayas is the 4-1 favorite against WBA champion Baraou heading into Saturday’s unification. Baraou’s eight-year career has mostly flown under the radar, but when he got his interim title shot against Yoenis Tellez in August, he took full advantage and left Orlando, FL, with the WBA belt.
Baraou was later promoted to full champion after Terence Crawford faced Canelo Alvarez in September 2025. Like Zayas, instead of a voluntary defense, it was decided that a unification fight would be a better option, and now they will meet to determine who becomes a two-belt champion.
Aside from blocking out all of the cheers for Zayas as he is the hometown fighter, what else will he have to do to defeat the much younger Zayas? Baraou has to establish the body attack right from the start. He has to slow Zayas down without the temptation of going headhunting. If he can wear down Zayas where he stays in the pocket longer than he should, that’s when Baraou can do his best work in an effort to try and stop Zayas.
Baraou will have opportunities to land his best shots against Zayas, who can be lazy defensively at times and will need to capitalize on those few opportunities. Baraou is unlikely to leave Puerto Rico with a decision victory, so he will need to go for the stoppage late in the fight, but only if he can establish the offense to the body early on.
Xander Zayas vs Abass Baraou Prediction
Aside from winning the world title, this is truly the moment Zayas has been waiting for throughout his career: fighting in a unification bout in Puerto Rico. Expect Zayas to get caught up in his emotions early on but eventually settle down, earn a close yet unanimous decision, and become a two-belt champion.
Xander Zayas vs Abass Baraou Betting Odds
Per DraftKings SportsBook, Xander Zayas is the favorite at -425, and Abass Baraou is the underdog at +300.
Xander Zayas: TKO/KO +475; Decision -200
Draw: +1600
Abass Baraou: TKO/KO +1000; Decision +475
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