Xander Zayas vs Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis: ‘Keeping It A Buck’

One of the most intriguing unification fights between two undefeated fighters is less than 24 hours away from taking place inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. WBO & WBA junior middleweight champion Xander Zayas (23-0, 13 KOs) will defend his titles against Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) in a scheduled 12-round fight, live on DAZN PPV. There are many questions surrounding this fight, and after spending some time here with my people in the Bronx, will those questions be answered on Saturday night?

“No Sleep ‘til Brooklyn”

One thing about an event in New York is that when the buzz is high, everyone’s talking about it, whether at the local bodega, sneaker store, or even at bus stops. Spending time near Times Square on Thursday night and in the Bronx on Friday, there is a lot of buzz, but it’s just for the World Cup, not this fight. Everyone is talking about it, and conversations have bled over into constant radio promos for it and where you can watch the live stream.

Yes, Ennis and Zayas did their Power 105.1 run, and I’m sure other radio stations as well, but those came across as a blip and nothing more. Is this a sign that boxing, even in a place like New York, isn’t something people are interested in? Could it be as simple as the World Cup being such a monster of an event that it has sucked all the air out of the room, leaving very little for Saturday’s fight?

Even at Friday’s weigh-in, where you would have expected a big turnout, video clips have shown minimal support, and one writer posted on X, “Some of the people outside of the Barclays didn’t know either” regarding a fight taking place there on Saturday night. At a time when Matchroom Boxing has moved toward having more media aggregators at their events than journalists, they may not have gotten what they were looking for, or did they? Hearn stated they would sell another few thousand tickets between the weigh-in and fight night. It might be a hard sell unless they slash prices late, and those $99 tickets turn into $49.99.

I want this event to be a success, mainly for the sport, but I wonder whether the buzz would have been bigger if not for the World Cup.

Jaron Ennis, Xander Zayas And Their Personalities

The 29-year-old Ennis from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a quiet fighter who tends to show his personality in spurts. He is an elite talent, but when he speaks, it isn’t always with much confidence, which turns people off a bit. There was a moment about two years ago when Terence Crawford was on the phone with him during a Gillie and Wallo podcast, and Ennis was fumbling over his words and just didn’t know what to say. We’ve seen glimpses of this in many interviews, as he defaults to saying the same thing to escape that uncertainty bubble. If he wants to be the face of boxing, aside from winning on Saturday, he has to work on being more comfortable in public spaces.

The 23-year-old Zayas from San Juan, Puerto Rico, is similar to ‘Boots’ but different. As he was coming up, Zayas wanted to be the guy Puerto Ricans connected with, but it didn’t quite happen. Although he didn’t fumble over his words as Ennis does, Zayas would default to saying some of the same things in moments when he was unsure of himself. Recognizing this, he signed with Rimas Entertainment, a marketing company owned by Bad Bunny, which raised his profile in areas he wouldn’t have been able to on his own. They took a patient approach and played to his strengths, as he was on Spanish sitcoms, the Super Bowl, and more. Zayas’ personality has grown tremendously over the last couple of years, but he still has some work to do if he wants to be a mega star in and out of the ring.

Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis & Xander Zayas: Real Deal or Moved Well?

Let’s begin with Zayas, who is part of that “well-oiled machine,” as veteran Michael Woods tends to say. Zayas began his career at welterweight in 2019 and is now a two-belt champion at 154. When he was coming up, Zayas was knocking out his opponents and looked impressive. As the competition increased, knockouts gave way to decisions, and his body forced him to move up to junior middleweight. There, he won a vacant WBO title and earned a split decision in January, making him a unified champion. It’s hard to say whether he’s been moved well or is the real deal, because his BoxRec doesn’t scream elite. Saturday, he will have to prove that he is the real deal and not just moved well.

The same can be said about Ennis. At 29, he has 35 fights, but his resume is thin. For a long time at welterweight, it appeared he couldn’t get the big fights, even though he was fighting on Showtime, where lucrative and highly competitive fights could have been made. Without knowing the intimate details of contract offers and who they went to or not, it’s hard to say whether Ennis was just moved well or too much of the real deal for anyone to take a risk on. The pressure is just as much on Ennis as it is on Zayas to prove that when the stakes are highest, there is another level he can take it to. If we don’t see that on Saturday, would that mean he was another fighter who was just moved well?

What does Xander Zayas and Jaron Ennis Have To Do To Win?

Zayas needs to use his newfound movement to his advantage and box smartly against Ennis. Although he likes to mix it up on the inside, Zayas has to keep those moments brief and infrequent. That should be the time when Zayas breaks Ennis’ body down. The fight also has to be kept just outside mid-range, so Ennis doesn’t sharpshoot Zayas with his jab. Ennis can be careless with his defense, and when he is, Zayas has to make him pay. If he can do this while throwing enough to steal rounds, Zayas can have his hand raised at the end of the night.

For Ennis, he has to cut off the ring and force Zayas to fight more than he has in his last few fights. Ennis also has to control distance with his lead foot and change Zayas’ eye level with his combinations to the body and head. When Zayas is not throwing punches, Ennis needs to jump on him and make him work more than he wants early in the fight. If Ennis can gas out Zayas late in the fight, there could be an opportunity for a stoppage.

Are We Going To Get A Classic Or A Stinker?

It’s hard to say how Zayas-Ennis plays out, as this fight has the recipe for being a boring one because of their styles. If either one commits to their offense more than anticipated, it can turn into a war of attrition. I don’t see that happening, as both fighters are too good to commit to something like that. Although most think Ennis will blow out Zayas, I don’t see him going after it like that, as it could very well be another Karen Chukhadzhian type of fight. In the end, I think we will get a split decision. It’s just hard to say who that decision will go to.

Abraham Gonzalez

Abraham Gonzalez is a 2x award-winning writer, International Boxing Hall of Fame voter, founder and publisher of FightsATW. His journalistic work has been published and used across several platforms, including online, network TV, and promotional companies. He is an alumnus of an American Public University and a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). Abraham was the Managing Editor for NYFights, Big Fight Weekend, and contributed to The Ring Magazine, FanSidedMMA, and ProBoxTV.

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