Combined WBO and WBA junior middleweight champion Xander Zayas (23-0, 13 KOs) wants greatness, wants to be considered the best. On Saturday, June 27, he faces the biggest challenge of his career by defending his titles against what many consider to be a top-ranked boxer, former lineal welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs). The winner of the match will have a feud with the top fighter in the division.
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The 23-year-old Xander has been steadily improving, having significantly raised the level of his competition in his last two matches. Fight back-to-back title fights.
He first defeated Jorge Garcia Perez in the vacant WBO junior middleweight championship and then consolidated the WBA title against Abbass Baraou. The title matches were the first 12 rounds of his career. He has been tested by both, but none more so than Baraou, who has received the most of Zayas' opponents, 134 punches.
Abass was familiar with Xander, having won 80 rounds against him, and knew where his weaknesses might be. When put under the right amount of pressure, Zayas is often sloppy defensively. His footwork suffers, and he can get caught when changing angles. He needs to do much better against Boots, who has great speed and agility.
Xander believes he can take out Jaron in the long run due to what he sees as Boots' poor performance in Karen Chukhadzhian's debut. Zayas believes that Ennis has struggled to close the distance, telling Showbizz Old Man on “Run the Tape” that he feels Boot is smooth in the middle distance but struggles in the long distance. Appearance can sometimes be deceiving, however.
That was Jaron's first fight to go the distance of twelve rounds. It may not have been his best performance as Karen chose to cut back on trades, but he managed to outscore him 203 to 97. Holding Chukhadzhian to a low connection percentage of 16.9.
In comparison, Zayas had two 12-round bouts, and both went the distance. Statistically, they were much closer than the Ennis-Chukhadzian match as Xander beat his opponents a little closer, knocking out Perez with 69 and Baraou with 42 punches (Compubox).
While Xander may be athletic and strong, it may not be enough against a fighter of the caliber of the Boors. You are facing a powerful warrior who challenges anyone. Jaron is extremely skilled, able to punch in both orthodox and southpaw positions. In terms of speed, agility, agility, and experience, Ennis would have the edge in all of those categories.
He also sported a knockout rate of 88.57 per cent, making the Boots very dangerous
fighter Zayas has experienced. Ennis is the perfect puncher, and will exploit Xander's weaknesses by applying pressure to create holes.
If he attacks the body, Boots will be able to slow down Zayas and limit his mobility. The jab will be Jaroni's key; he has to get it right so he can disrupt Xander's rhythm and make it difficult for him.
Although he chooses to fight in pursuit of greatness, it may be too soon against someone as skilled as Brother. This was the fight Jaron had been waiting for, and now that it's here, he'll want to take advantage of this opportunity and show the world that he's special.
Last updated on 2026/06/27 at 6:42 PM
