At the ripe age of 23, Xander Zayas is now a unified junior middleweight titleholder – and he was able to pull it off in front of his hometown fans.

Zayas won a split decision over Abass Baraou to win the WBA junior middleweight title while making the first defense of his WBO title, in Saturday’s main event at the Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Scores were 116-112 twice in Zayas’ favor, with one card oddly reading 116-112 for Baraou.

Zayas, fighting in Puerto Rico for the first time as a titleholder and second time in his career, started strong, boxing on the outside. Baraou, of Oberhausen, Germany, relentlessly pressed forward, forcing Zayas to stay engaged. Zayas continued his magnificent start, dancing around his opponent as Baraou struggled to mount any form of effective offense. Zayas’ beautiful counterpunching and fast hands were the story of the fight through the early rounds.

In the fifth, Baraou, 31, began to intensify the pressure and increasingly landed shots on Zayas – something he hadn’t done in any round prior. Zayas, 23, bounced back well, continuing to box deftly from the outside, while Baraou got more aggressive, looking for opportunities to land.

In the seventh, Baraou began to find Zayas again, his constant pressure beginning to pay off. But Zayas had his best combination punches in the ninth round, bringing the crowd to life. In the end, it was Zayas’ active feet that were too much for Baraou – until the final round.

Zayas obliged Baraou in the 12th, standing in the middle of the ring and trading with his opponent. He might have boxed his way to victory, but Zayas put on a show for the fans who came to support him, trading hard punches with Baraou until the final bell. After the fight, the two former sparring partners embraced, showing great sportsmanship. 

Zayas improved to 23-0 (13 KOs) and is now the youngest unified titleholder in boxing.

Baraou fell to 17-2 (9 KOs), losing his title in his first defense.

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.