DAVIE, Fla. — Xander Zayas was over the moon when he won his first world title. For a while after defeating Jorge Garcia Perez to win the vacant WBO junior middleweight title this past July at the Madison Square Garden Theater, Zayas slept with the belt in his bed. Since he no longer cuddles his belt, it’s getting lonely.
The 23-year-old will look to get new company for the belt on January 31, when he faces WBA titleholder Abass Baraou in a unification fight at Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Zayas, the second youngest world champion in boxing, says the plan was never to be a “champion-in-training,” winning a vacant belt and then feasting off optional defenses until he matured. He had hoped to face then-unified champion Sebastian Fundora before Fundora vacated the WBO title to pursue a rematch with Tim Tszyu. Now, he has an opportunity to become a unified champion the old-fashioned way.
“I always think about it that way. To be the guy you have to beat the guys. And this is the first step to do that,” said Zayas, 22-0 (13 KOs).
“Last fight out I beat a guy that was tough, durable. To be the guy, to stand in that ring and say ‘I’m the guy’ you have to be able to go through all of these names.”
To get ready for his next challenge, Zayas returned to familiar surroundings, setting up camp at the Sweatbox Gym in Davie, Florida, just 20 minutes from his hometown of Sunrise in South Florida. The private gym is located in an industrial complex with a roll-up door that opens to provide fresh air. There are a few punching bags on the main floor, and a few more upstairs in a smaller area. Near the front entrance is a sauna and cold plunge bath for recovery, providing everything needed for an at-home training camp.
There, he works under the watchful eye of trainer Javiel Centeno, while Zayas’ father watches on and assists. On this particular day, Centeno has outlined an agenda on the whiteboard, with four rounds of shadowboxing in a ring partitioned by slip ropes, followed by certain scenarios to be played out on the punch mitts, then concluding with a few rounds of power punch combinations on the heavy bag.
Hanging about 20 feet above the ring is another punching bag, which can be operated to descend into the ring for more drills. This writer jokes that the bag could stay where it is and help Zayas acclimate to the height of the WBC titleholder Fundora, who, despite the jest, is only about 6’6”. Zayas says his hope still is to make that fight against the most tenured champion in the division.
“I was disappointed, because I wanted to face a champion. I wanted to take both belts at once. But I think things happen for a reason, and it was supposed to happen. And hopefully in the future, we could get that fight going for sure,” said Zayas.
There has been little for Zayas to feel disappointed about since then. On a recent trip to Puerto Rico to announce the fight, past legends of Puerto Rican boxing, namely Felix “Tito” Trinidad and Miguel Cotto - who also held world titles at 154lbs - showed their support for Zayas, who is the largest of the current crop of Puerto Rico’s recent world champions. Should Zayas defeat Barras, he would join Oscar Collazo and Amanda Serrano as current unified champions representing Puerto Rico.
Having a unified champion in one of the deepest divisions of the sport, where Fundora, Bakhram Murtazaliev, Vergil Ortiz Jnr and Jaron Ennis are major names, would be a big boost to Puerto Rican boxing fans, says Zayas.
“I feel like it's very important for them. They've shown me nothing but love since I became a world champion, even before then. So I feel like they've shown love to every champion that we have right now, which is always amazing, because we’re all representing Puerto Rico at the highest level, and we're doing it with a lot of pride and a lot of love,” said Zayas, who was signed by Top Rank at just 16 years old.
Baraou, 17-1 (9 KOs), also has something to prove as a champion. The 31-year-old from Berlin, Germany won the interim title in August, defeating the previously unbeaten Yoenis Tellez by unanimous decision in Orlando, and was elevated to full champion after Terence Crawford vacated the belt after defeating Saul “Canelo” Alvarez the following month.
Baraou, like Zayas, will be walking to the ring for the first time as a defending champion.
“He earned it,” said Zayas of Baraou’s victory over Tellez. “I feel like he did what he needed to do. And this fight, I'm just going to show why I'm at the highest level again. I’m gonna make those adjustments when necessary, and I'm gonna stick to the game plan and have fun.”
The fight will be Zayas’ first in Puerto Rico since he was a 4-0 prospect in 2020. Though he’s spent much of his career since then building up his fanbase in Puerto Rican strongholds like New York City and South Florida, returning to his city of birth as a champion is a special accomplishment for him.
“It's one of the most important things I've ever done in my career,” said Zayas. “Coming back to my mainland, where I was born and grew up, it's always been a pleasure to me, and now to do it as a champion and make them proud of what we've been doing inside and outside the ring, I feel like it's a very proud moment for me.”
Even as a champion, Zayas hasn’t allowed success change him or the way he approaches the sport. He still trains year-round, even when he doesn’t have a fight. And now, with one major holiday out of the way, training camp will kick up another gear.
“Just knowing that this is not even halfway of what we want to accomplish, just knowing that and understanding that this is the beginning, the first part, the first phase of what we want to do and what we want to accomplish in boxing, it keeps me hungry, keeps me dedicated,” said Zayas.
