Xander Zayas joined the ranks of the 154-lb champions with his 12-round unanimous decision victory over #2 ranked Jorge Garcia (33-5, 26 KOS) to win the vacant WBO junior middleweight title at Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City.
Is Zayas the Weakest Link?
Zayas looks more like the weakest link among the six 154-lb champions. Going by how Xander (22-0, 13 KOs) performed against Garcia and in his previous 21 fights, it’s impossible to view him above any of the current six champions in the division. He’s the Mario Barrios of the 154-lb division. In other words, he’s a champion in name only and will hold onto his belt only as long as he doesn’t fight any of the top fighters in the junior middleweight division.
Can Xander Beat Top 154s?
Bakhram Murtazaliev – IBF
Sebastian Fundora – WBC
Terence Crawford – WBA
Xander Zayas – WBO
Vergil Ortiz Jr. – WBC interim
Yoenis Tellez – WBA interim
Looking at that list, is there anyone in the division that Zayas can beat that would put him above the others? I don’t see any fighter that he can beat. Casual fans who aren’t familiar with the WBA interim champion Yoenis Tellez might say Zayas would beat him. He wouldn’t. The Cuban Tellez hits way too hard, and the tricks that Xander used to beat Garcia, holding and moving, wouldn’t be effective against him.
Why Zayas Won’t Last
Zayas’s victory was made easier by the World Boxing Organization’s ranking of the veteran Jorge Garcia, who they placed ahead of the vastly superior fighters Israil Madrimov, Jaron Ennis, Serhii Bohachuk, and Erickson Lubin. Xander will stay champion only as long as his promoters at Top Rank keep him away from those sharks, along with all the belt-holders.
“I needed to be fast and I needed to be explosive. We made the adjustment in the ring, but we knew that left hand was dropping every time he came in,” said Xander Zayas at the post-press conference after his win over Jorge Garcia last Saturday night.
“I hope those big fights happen. There’s no more running from me. I’m a world champion.”