Xander Zayas looked skeletal and haggard today, making weight for his battle against Jorge Garcia for the vacant WBO junior middleweight title this Saturday night at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City.
Top Rank’s Next Star: Zayas?
Top Rank is banking on Zayas (21-0, 13 KOs) becoming their next star for Top Rank after they struck out with Edger Berlanga. The drained appearance of the surprisingly old-looking Xander, 22, has fans wondering whether the weight cut may have been too much for him. This is the wrong opponent for him to be fighting at less than 100% capacity.
Main Card at 9:00 p.m. ET
– Xander Zayas 154 vs. Jorge Garcia 153
– Bruce Carrington 125 vs. Mateus Heita 124.8
– Emiliano Fernando Vargas 139.6 vs. Alexander Espinoza 139.4
Prelim at 6:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+
– Rohan Polanco 146.6 vs. Quinton Randall 146.8
– Juanmita Lopez De Jesus 113.8 vs. Jorge Gonzalez-Sanchez 114.8
– Yan Santana 124.8 vs. Aaron Alameda 125.6
– Steven Navarro 115 vs. Cristopher Rios 114.4
– Julius Ballo 132.6 vs. Brandan Ayala 130.2
Garcia Upset Potential vs. Zayas
Garcia (33-4, 26 KOs) will be trying to pull off another upset in a battle against Xander. In Garcia’s last fight, he defeated previously unbeaten Charles Conwell and made it look easy. Will he do the same thing to Zayas? If so, Top Rank may need to consider giving up on their hopes of turning Xander into an East Coast star.
Jorge Garcia: “It’s going to be just us two people in there. No one is going to help him, and no one is going to help me. So, we’re going to see who is the best when we get in there,” said Garcia to Top Rank Boxing, talking about his fight against Zayas.
Xander Zayas: “There’s no ‘potentially.’ After I become a world champion tomorrow night, this is the last weigh-in. I’m ready to put on a show tomorrow. He’s a tough opponent, but the work is done. There are no questions to be asked. There’s only me and him.
“I’m going to go out there and take over as I always do. It means the world to be fighting at MSG for the world title. This is the eighth time I’ve been at this venue. It’s a dream come true. I can’t ask for anything better than this. I’m excited for tomorrow. I know Puerto Rico is excited for tomorrow, and I’m going to put on a show for them.”
Weigh In Results
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Xander Zayas vs. Jorge Garcia – 154 lbs (69.9 kg) vs. 153 lbs (69.4 kg)
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Bruce Carrington vs. Mateus Heita – 125 lbs (56.7 kg) vs. 124.8 lbs (56.6 kg)
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Emiliano Fernando Vargas vs. Alexander Espinoza – 139.6 lbs (63.3 kg) vs. 139.4 lbs (63.2 kg)
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Rohan Polanco vs. Quinton Randall – 146.6 lbs (66.5 kg) vs. 146.8 lbs (66.6 kg)
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Juanmita Lopez De Jesus vs. Jorge Gonzalez-Sanchez – 113.8 lbs (51.6 kg) vs. 114.8 lbs (52.1 kg)
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Yan Santana vs. Aaron Alameda – 124.8 lbs (56.6 kg) vs. 125.6 lbs (57.0 kg)
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Steven Navarro vs. Cristopher Rios – 115 lbs (52.2 kg) vs. 114.4 lbs (51.9 kg)
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Julius Ballo vs. Brandan Ayala – 132.6 lbs (60.2 kg) vs. 130.2 lbs (59.1 kg)