Xander Zayas picked up exactly where he left off six weeks ago.
The only things that changed since then were his age and opponent, as a now 18-year old Zayas made quick work of overmatched Anthony Curtiss. A flurry of punches put an end to their Telemundo preliminary contest at just 0:55 into the 1st round Friday evening at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida.
Zayas—who relocated from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Plantation, Florida at age 11—made his in-state debut this past September, picking up a 1st round knockout of Orlando Salgado on the eve of his 18th birthday.
Little changed in the six weeks since that feat, as Curtiss was in well over his head on paper and in reality. Zayas wasted no time in establishing his dominance, performing like a blue-chip welterweight prospect. Curtiss quickly found himself cornered and under siege, unable to defend himself from a barrage of precise power shots from the rangy Boricua. The night was only going to get worse for Curtiss, as surmised by the third man who waved off the contest on the spot.
The win advances Zayas’ record to 6-0 (5KOs), though far stiffer challenges lie ahead. The former amateur standout is promoted by Top Rank and managed by Peter Kahn, both of whom have high hopes for the stud welterweight talent.
Sharing space on the undercard, Zayas’ managerial stablemate Aaron Aponte enjoyed a successful pro debut with a 1st round knockout of Jonathan Conde.
A right hand put Conde down and out, with their junior welterweight fight stopped at just 0:58 of the opening round.
Aponte is a three-time national amateur champion who is based out of the greater Miami area. The Peter Kahn-managed 19-year old will aim to remain as active as can be allowed during the pandemic.
Both bouts came in supporting capacity to Antonio Morán’s 6th round knockout of Emanuel ‘Pinky’ Colon in a terrific war of a main event.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
