Xander Zayas has been taught from an early age to always trust the process.
The unbeaten junior middleweight contender has done his best to abide by that rule, as he’s been brought along the right way ahead of his first major title fight.
That moment will come this Saturday, when Puerto Rico’s Zayas, 21-0 (13 KOs), and Mexico’s Jorge Garcia Perez, 33-4 (26 KOs), meet for the vacant WBO 154lbs title. Their bout will headline an ESPN tripleheader this Saturday from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
However, it was at this very venue when Zayas stood in the ring and – for a moment – questioned why the next step didn’t match his lofty dreams.
“I’ll admit, I thought I was ready for the world title last year,” Zayas confessed to BoxingScene.
The ambitious thought was for good reason. A then-21-year-old Zayas effortlessly outpointed former WBO 154lbs titlist Patrick Teixeira over ten rounds last June at The Theater. The night marked his first ESPN headliner, in front of a rabid pro-Boricua crowd on the eve of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City.
After a dominant win over a former major titlist, Zayas was eager to seek out the current titleholders. His powerhouse team – Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum and his Top Rank staff, manager Peter Kahn and head trainer Javiel Centeno – asked for just a little more patience.
“I thought it was time for a world title right after Teixeira,” Zayas believed. “But it gave me two more chances to prove that I am worthy of that world title shot.
“I did that. I proved it against Damian Sosa, who went in averaging like 60, 70 punches per round. He couldn’t do that against me, I dominated him. Then, I got an undefeated guy (Slawa Spomer) who was ranked by the WBO. I got him out of there in nine rounds.”
The win over Spomer also took place at this location as part of a February 14 ESPN show. The main event saw Keyshawn Davis win his first major title in a rout of then-unbeaten WBO lightweight beltholder Denys Berinchyk.
Zayas appreciated the evening’s main event, which he treated as a preview for his own next fight. The win over Spomer allowed the Florida-based contender to move into the WBO number-one position and was named mandatory challenger just one month later.
The sanctioning body ordered a fight between Sebastian Fundora, 23-1-1 (15 KOs) – who held the WBC and WBO titles at the time – and Zayas. The matter went to a scheduled purse bid hearing, which was canceled when Fundora relinquished the belt to instead enter a rematch with former titlist Tim Tszyu.
Zayas held his ground and was first in line for the vacant title. By that point, he no longer cared who would be in the opposite corner this weekend.
“I really wanted to take the title – two titles – off Sebastian Fundora,” Zayas lamented. “I know all the work I put in had me ready for that fight and to become champion. I wanted to show the world that I am ready to become the face of this division.”
There is still time to prove that – he’s only 22, after all.
Zayas still has the matter of getting past the opponent in front of him. While a -500 favorite according to bet365 sportsbook, the six-year pro is mindful of the history carried by Garcia, who upset then-unbeaten Charles Conwell to land his own first major title fight.
After all, Garcia beat the guy that Zayas figured - back in April - that he would be facing this weekend.
“I didn’t think it would turn out that way when the fight was made,” Zayas admitted. “Charles Conwell didn’t know what to do with the opponent he had in front of him and credit to Jorge Garcia Perez for winning that fight. I think Charles Conwell fought the wrong fight.
“I’m not trying to diminish Jorge Garcia’s win, it was a hell of an achievement, and you can’t take that away from him. But I think, it was less that Jorge Garcia beat him and more that Charles Conwell lost a fight that was there for him to win.”
That makes this weekend’s goal that much simpler for Zayas – fight his fight and complete the mission to hoist the title over his head by night’s end.
“Overall, I just got to focus on this fight, win and become champ,” noted Zayas. “Everything my team has done for me led me to this moment, no matter when I thought I was ready for it. My time is obviously now.”
