Xander Zayas will never forget the night he could officially call himself a major titleholder.
In fact, he refused to part ways with the WBO 154lbs title, no matter the setting, following his July 26 landslide victory over Jorge Garcia in New York City. The task now is to provide a companion for that chip, which he aims to do in a January 31 unification bout with WBA counterpart Abass Baraou.
The clash of newly crowned titlists will headline at Coliseo de Puerto Rico Jose Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, where both met the press on Wednesday to formally announce their showdown.
“This is my baby. I sleep with it every time I can,” Zayas said with a prideful grin while looking down at the belt. “After the fight, I slept with it for like a week. I dedicated my life to it. No greater feeling than achieving my dream and now the chance to unify on January 31.
“I will sleep with this belt every night until February 1. Then it will have a partner. We're here to put on a show for Puerto Rico and on the island. There's no better way of doing it than unifying and rewriting history one more time.”
Barring any unexpected title changes in fights not yet on the calendar, the 23-year-old Zayas, 22-0 (13 KOs), will enter the bout as the sport’s youngest active male titleholder. Given his age and the backdrop of a home game, it would have been industry standard for the event to feature a less threatening challenge.
That’s just not who Zayas is or who he wants to represent. Certainly not in his first fight in P.R. since February 2020, barely four months into his pro career and – at age 17 – still at the hero worship portion of his journey.
Zayas – who was born in San Juan but relocated with his family to South Florida at age 13 - remains in awe of the Puerto Rican greats who blazed a trail before him.
Among the modern-day legends, he has direct and unlimited access to Amanda Serrano, the record-setting seven-division champion who frequently refers to Zayas as her little brother. Then there is Miguel Cotto, the Hall of Fame former four-division titlist who presented Zayas with his official WBO belt during a late summer ceremony in San Juan.
Outside the ring, Zayas aligned himself with another P.R. giant in entering a marketing deal with Rimas Sports, co-owned by global recording superstar Bad Bunny. The signing came after a concert held by the music icon in San Juan, where Zayas was invited on stage along with Hall of Fame former three-division champ Felix Trinidad, reigning lineal and unified strawweight king Oscar Collazo and WBO 108lbs titlist Rene Santiago.
“I have a great relationship with a lot of artists on the island,” stated Zayas. “The biggest among them is Bad Bunny, the number one artist in the world. I was honored when he had me as part of the (San Juan 30-show) residency here in Puerto Rico.”
Those relationships are not only cherished by Zayas, but also provide him with a sense of responsibility in carrying out his own career.
It’s why he pushed his team to do better with the opposition selection when discussion first began of a San Juan homecoming for his first title defense. A routine challenger just wasn’t going to cut it, not when he spent all of 2025 pursuing other big names, only for those other fighters – including Vergil Ortiz Jnr and Sebastian Fundora – looked elsewhere even after he welcomed the opportunity to challenge each.
That road led to Germany’s Baraou, a streaking junior middleweight who hits the road for the second straight time in a title setting. His August 23 upset win over Yoenis Tellez came with the interim version of the WBA title at stake in Orlando, Florida. Zayas was in attendance, mostly to lend support to his former sparring partner but also to lay the foundation for a future collision.
Baraou’s extraordinary effort that evening was further rewarded when he was upgraded to full titlist on September 13, once the bell sounded for Terence Crawford’s eventual points win over undisputed 168lbs champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
Once Zayas got his way and improved the opponent choice previously offered by Top Rank, the first step was officially taken towards the unbeaten boxer one day joining the Puerto Rican greats he’s long idolized.
“It’s an honor to represent where I'm from,” said Zayas. “To represent my people, to represent Puerto Rico, and to put the pride of the island where it belongs, at the top. If you can dream it, you can do it.
“That's my message to them. We come from the same place, and there's nothing we can't do if we put in the work and we put the dedication in.”
Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.
