Xander Zayas aims for a dream 2026
The WBO junior middleweight world champion, Puerto Rican Xander Zayas, has big plans for 2026. At 23 years old, Zayas is the youngest world champion in boxing, and seeks to consolidate his career inside and outside the ring. Recently, Zayas signed a marketing agreement with Rimas Sports, a company co-owned by the renowned artist Bad Bunny. This agreement seeks to expand its reach through sponsorships, marketing initiatives, and commercial partnerships, allowing Zayas to focus on bringing more successes to his homeland and continuing the historic tradition of Puerto Rican boxing.Rimas Sports, which primarily focuses on Latin American athletes, also represents MLB stars like Ronald Acuña and Fernando Tatis Jr. In addition, they recently signed Puerto Rican boxer Juanmita López, son of the former two-division champion Juan Manuel López. The relationship between Zayas and Bad Bunny is friendly, with the artist celebrating Zayas’ recent victory at a concert. There is speculation about possible future collaborations between the boxer and the musician. Zayas’ manager, Peter Kahn, highlighted the importance of this alliance: “Now we have the biggest Latin musician in the world who has Puerto Rican pride and wants to guide these athletes. For us, this was obvious.” Despite Bad Bunny’s support, Zayas is aware that he must focus on his performance in the ring and hopes to compete three times in 2026. His schedule could include fights in January, during the weekend of the Puerto Rican Day parade in June, and a final fight in December. Details are being negotiated for a possible unification fight between Zayas and WBA champion Abass Baraou, which could take place in Puerto Rico in January. Zayas was hoping to have another fight before the end of the year, but he explained why a fight in December with his rival Vergil Ortiz, who will face Erickson Lubin on November 8, did not materialize. The controversy between Ortiz and Zayas began last year, when they exchanged comments on social media after a fight between the two was canceled. Zayas agreed to fight Ortiz in Saudi Arabia in early 2025, but Ortiz opted to face Israil Madrimov. In August, Ortiz posted on social media that Zayas had a deadline to accept an offer from Golden Boy president Eric Gomez to Top Rank head Carl Moretti. Zayas responded that, although he agreed to fight Ortiz, the offer was not legitimate because important details were missing.The advertising and marketing agreement I just signed is to bring opportunities outside the ring that I probably wasn’t getting before. Everyone knows what I can do in the ring, but this deal is huge for me as I plan to elevate my career outside of boxing.
Xander Zayas
The key point for Zayas was that, as a champion, he wanted the fight to take place in Puerto Rico. Zayas does not rule out the possibility of facing Ortiz in 2026 during the weekend of the Puerto Rican Day parade in New York, but he will not limit his options. “It could be the fight. We’ll see where the year takes us. I’m not afraid of him and I know he’s not afraid of me. It just has to be the right business deal for both of us.”It wasn’t an offer. An offer means a purse, a date, and a place. What they sent didn’t include any of that. They wanted a 50-50 split of pay-per-view for a fight in Las Vegas or California sometime in December. That’s not a real offer. This was a conversation starter.
Xander Zayas
