Xander Zayas chose bigger fight over Josh Kelly, says Eddie Hearn

Hearn points to money and profile behind Zayas decision

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn says Xander Zayas opted against a fight with Josh Kelly in favor of a higher-profile opportunity.

Hearn confirmed that Zayas had been open to facing Kelly, but the eventual fight offered stronger financial upside and visibility.

“Financially, this fight was a much bigger fight for Xander,” Hearn said to iFL TV.
“It’s a bigger profile fight. Xander was up for the Josh Kelly fight.”

WBA and WBO junior middleweight champion Zayas is now set to face Jaron Ennis in a major bout on June 27th, leaving Kelly to look at other options for his next appearance.

“I can’t answer that because I’m not Xander Zayas, but he just seems to want to take the biggest challenges and the biggest fights,” Hearn said.

Kelly is expected to return in a separate bout, with discussions ongoing around a potential voluntary defense later this year.

From a business perspective, the switch to Jaron “Boots” Ennis is a night-and-day difference for a US pay-per-view. Boots is a rising star with a massive following in the States, and a clash between two young, hungry, unified-caliber fighters like him and Zayas is an easy sell for the Brooklyn crowd at Barclays.

While Josh Kelly did officially become the IBF champion back in January with that majority decision win over Bakhram Murtazaliev, the “gifted” label has stuck to him like glue.

Even though it was a homecoming for Kelly, many observers felt IBF 154-lb champion Bakhram Murtazaliev’s aggression and power, including the knockdown he scored in the 9th, should have carried the day.

The CompuBox numbers didn’t do Kelly any favors, showing him being outlanded in both total punches and power shots.

Bringing a fighter into a high-profile PPV who many fans believe shouldn’t even have the belt he’s carrying is a marketing nightmare. It creates a “paper champion” narrative that’s hard to shake, especially against someone as technically sound as Zayas.

For Zayas, moving away from that dark cloud and into the spotlight with Ennis is definitely the smarter chess move.