Xander Zayas feels no pressure ahead of his homecoming bout in Puerto Rico.

Zayas, the WBO junior middleweight titleholder, will try to unify against Abass Baraou on Saturday at Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Zayas, 22-0 (13 KOs), won the vacant WBO title against Jorge Garcia Perez in July. It also happened to be promoter Top Rank’s last fight on its ESPN deal. Now Zayas – a 23-year-old born in San Juan but training in Florida – will attempt to unify by capturing another title in this upcoming fight.

With so much attention on Zayas at a young age – he is the youngest fighter to have signed with Top Rank – the expectation might be that he feels the burden of pressure. Zayas says that isn’t the case.

“There is no pressure,” Zayas said. “Pressure is mental; if you let it get to you, it will get to you. I have been doing this my whole life; I was born for this.”

Zayas will be fighting for the first time in Puerto Rico as a professional. Trained by Javiel Centeno, Zayas was an accomplished amateur before he was a teenager, quickly gaining a high profile and eventually signing with a major promoter before an age that many fighters turn pro.

“I have been doing this for so long,” Zayas said. “I dedicated myself to this, and Saturday night I will be making history.”

Zayas knows his foe well. He sparred with the 31-year-old Baraou a few years ago. Baraou, 17-1 (9 KOs), won his vacant WBA junior middleweight title against Yoenis Tellez in August. When Zayas was asked what to expect from Baraou, a native of Berlin, Germany, he was diplomatic.

“I am expecting the best version of him,” Zayas said, “because he is going to get the best version of me.”

Zayas expects business as usual Saturday. Despite the significance of his homecoming as a titleholder and his efforts to unify two of the major titles, he anticipates staying the course he has plotted up to this point of his career.

“Come Saturday night, I will be the same Xander Zayas as always,” Zayas said. “Smiling, having fun and collecting belts.”

Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.