Puerto Rican rising star Xander Zayas made more junior middleweight history as he won the unified junior middleweight title main event in San Juan, Puerto Rico Saturday night.
Xander Zayas continued his championship rise and made some more boxing history Saturday night in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This as he defeated fellow junior middleweight champ Abass Baraou by split decision to capture his WBA title and add it to the WBO belt he won last Summer.
Fighting in front of a raucous hometown crowd in the Coliseo de Puerto Rico and at just 23 years old, Zayas became the youngest active unified champion in the sport and the first Puerto Rican fighter to win unified world titles on the Island.
Zayas, who improved to 23-0, 13 KOs, delivered a disciplined and mature beyond his years performance, relying on a sharp jab, and good combinations to control the bout. From the opening bell, he used his footwork and was baiting Baraou, now 17-2, 9 KOs, into bad counter situations. Each time Baraou attempted to close the gap, Zayas answered with quick counters of his own and scored effectively.
Zayas was making his first defense as world champ after winning the WBO belt last July in New York, He outpointed Jorge Garcia in a Top Rank Boxing main event at the Madison Square Garden Theater. And, at that time he became the youngest champion in boxing (22 years old) with a bright future.
Meanwhile, Baraou, who had won the vacant WBA 154 lb. title last August in a 12 round upset of Yoenis Tellez, found moments of success Saturday night. Baraou had his best work in the fifth round, when a series of right hands to Zayas appeared to shift the momentum in his favor.
However, arguably the key moment of the fight came in the ninth, when Zayas landed a perfectly timed right hand that visibly wobbled Baraou. Sensing an opportunity, Zayas pressed forward in search of a possible stoppage, but Baraou showed grit and durability, surviving the round.
After that surge, Zayas closed the fight with confidence, and in the final round, he treated the crowd to nearly three minutes of spirited back-and-forth action that brought the Coliseo crowd to its feet.
Compubox stats showed Zayas outlanding Baraou 176-134 in overall punches and by a wide 50 punch margin on power shots (134-83).
The judges’ scorecards reflected the competitiveness of the contest. But, one judge interestingly scored the bout 116-112 for Baraou, but that was overruled by two identical 116-112 scores in favor of Zayas, securing the split decision victory.
“I feel amazing,” Zayas said in the ring after the fight. “I’m only 23, and I’m the youngest active unified champion. And I’m just getting started.”
Zayas admitted he was briefly nervous when the decision was read, but he remained confident in his performance. “I felt I pulled it off. I won at least eight or nine rounds. Maybe he got three or four.”
Clearly, two of the judges agreed with that.
He also revealed he injured his left hand in the ninth round. “I was jabbing a lot, and he has a hard head, so I hurt my jab hand. But champions find a way to win.”
Baraou was gracious in defeat. “Congrats to him. He did an amazing job. He beat me fair and square. He deserves it. I will come back stronger.”
The Zayas win not only claimed a second world championship but it opens up more options for the young star at junior middleweight.