Boots Ennis vs Xander Zayas emerges as strong option at 154

Greg Hackett likes the idea of Jaron “Boots” Ennis facing Xander Zayas because he sees it as one of the few fights that would actually answer something for both fighters at the same time, instead of protecting one while testing the other.

Hackett made it clear during his live that he doesn’t view this as a risky move for just one side. In his eyes, it’s balanced in a way most fights aren’t anymore, where one name is usually brought in to serve the other. This one, he believes, would force both men to show where they really stand.

“That’s a healthy challenge for both,” Hackett said on his channel. “Whoever comes out on top in that fight, man… skyrocket.”

The timing of the idea also important. A fight between Ennis and Vergil Ortiz Jr. had been one of the more obvious directions, but with Vergil dealing with promotional issues that have slowed that path, Hackett’s preferred alternative starts to carry more weight. Instead of waiting around for that situation to sort itself out, a fight with Xander, now holding the WBA and WBO titles at 154, becomes a live option that keeps Ennis moving.

The value of the fight, as Hackett sees it, comes from what each fighter gains if they win. Boots has spent the last stretch of his career hearing the same complaint repeated, that people want to see him in with a recognizable, credible opponent. Hackett believes Zayas fits that description enough to quiet some of that talk.

“For Boots, people always saying, ‘We just want to see him fight somebody,’” Hackett said. “Xander is a somebody.”

At the same time, he flipped the angle and pointed out what the fight would mean for Zayas. Rather than building slowly or waiting for a title path to open up, Hackett sees this as a chance for him to change his standing in one night if he pulls it off.

“If Xander beat Boots, then he beat the boogeyman,” he said. “That mean he’s definitely somebody.”

Hackett also noted that he didn’t expect a fight like that to come together this early, which adds to why he likes it. In a sport where timing is often managed carefully, he sees real value in a matchup that pushes both fighters sooner than expected instead of stretching things out.

“I didn’t think that fight would happen so early,” Hackett said. “But this is boxing. People do have to step up to the plate.”

The way Hackett talks about it, the appeal isn’t just that the fight would be competitive. It’s that it would settle two different conversations in one night, one around Ennis needing a name, and another around how real Zayas is at the top level.

It’s a fight that makes sense for both careers. For Xander, it would be his first time in with a credible opponent and a chance to show he’s more than a fighter who was maneuvered into two belts. For Boots, it would give him his first recognizable opponent since moving up to 154 in 2025, after his only fight in the division so far ended in a first-round stoppage of little-known Uisma Lima.