Roberto Valenzuela Jr. is impressed with what Xander Zayas has done during his rise in the junior middleweight division.

The hard-hitting Mexican veteran still isn’t convinced that Zayas (16-0, 10 KOs) is ready for the type of pressure and power that the rugged Valenzuela (21-4, 20 KOs) will bring to the ring Friday night in their 10-round, 154-pound bout. ESPN will broadcast the first 10-round fight of Zayas’ four-year professional career as its co-feature before Mexico’s Luis Alberto Lopez (28-2, 16 KOs) will defend his IBF featherweight title against Joet Gonzalez (26-3, 15 KOs) in the network’s main event from American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.

“We have studied him,” Valenzuela told BoxingScene.com through a translator. “I’ve seen the fights and the other boxers he has faced. And with all due respect, not to discredit them, but I’m going be the hardest test he has had to date. And many have said, ‘Well, all of your fights have been in Mexico.’

“But in the United States, I almost stopped Alexis Rocha, I put Souleymane Cissoko on the canvas, and in all of my fights I either drop or hurt my opponents. And so, I think this is gonna be the kind of fight that steals the show.”

Rocha and Cissoko both beat Valenzuela.

Rocha (23-1, 15 KOs), of Santa Ana, California, stopped him after the fifth round of their December 2019 bout at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California. Senegal’s Cissoko (16-0, 9 KOs) won their 10-rounder by unanimous decision in March 2022 at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.  

Valenzuela later lost an eight-round unanimous decision to Russia’s Bakhram Murtazaliev (21-0, 15 KOs), which makes this the type of opportunity that the 24-year-old Valenzuela must exploit to change the course of his career.

“I think he has been preparing well, just like me, but we are gonna see on Friday, September 15th, if he’s ready for this challenge or not,” Valenzuela said. “I wanna steal the night for all the Mexican people. And we’re gonna sing the chant of Mexico because it’s gonna be on September 15th. This is an important date for Mexico [the night before Mexican Independence Day]. I’m coming to get the upset. He’s a tough boxer. He’s a very complete boxer, but nothing is impossible. I have a goal to win, and it’s gonna be a very special night.”

The 21-year-old Zayas, of Sunrise, Florida, wants to show matchmakers for Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc. that he is ready for junior middleweight contenders and former champions.

ESPN’s three-bout broadcast is set to begin at 10 p.m. EDT with a six-round lightweight bout in which top prospect Emiliano Vargas (6-0, 5 KOs) will face Spain’s Alejandro Guardado (5-0, 1 KO). Las Vegas’ Vargas, 19, is a son of former junior middleweight champ Fernando Vargas.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.