Xander Zayas Conquers the World Title: A New Puerto Rican Boxing Icon
Xander Zayas has made history in boxing. On Saturday, at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, he established himself as the youngest world champion of the moment, by obtaining the vacant WBO super welterweight title. His victory over Jorge García Pérez demonstrated his skill and dominance in the ring. Zayas, who already has eight fights at the Garden, controlled the fight from the start. His agility in footwork and his ability to counterattack disconcerted García Pérez, who was trying to impose his strength. Zayas kept his distance, frustrating his rival’s attempts. The judges saw the fight in favor of Zayas with scores of 116-112, 118-110 and 119-109, marking the end of García Pérez’s eight-fight winning streak. In the sixth round, Zayas connected with a right hand that staggered García Pérez, but the Mexican remained firm. Zayas continued to dominate, and although García Pérez had a good eighth round, Zayas regained control in the ninth, avoiding his opponent’s blows and connecting his own punches.CompuBox statistics reveal Zayas’ superiority: he connected 50 more jabs and 19 more power punches than García Pérez, despite throwing fewer punches. Zayas had a 38% effectiveness in his total punches and 45% in power punches, surpassing García Pérez in both aspects. In addition, Zayas dominated in body shots, with a 59-31 advantage.
Zayas joins a list of Puerto Rican super welterweight champion boxers, such as Wilfred Benítez, Félix Trinidad, and Miguel Cotto, members of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. With 22 years and 324 days, Zayas is currently the youngest champion. The second youngest is welterweight Brian Norman Jr. On the card, Emilianio Vargas, son of Fernando Vargas, also stood out, achieving a knockout in 42 seconds. In addition, Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington conquered the WBC interim featherweight title. Carrington, from Brooklyn, dominated Mateus Heita, winning by unanimous decision. Heita suffered his first professional defeat. After receiving his interim belt, Carrington challenged WBO champion Rafael Espinosa, who was present at the event. “I love you, brother. You know it. My team has called your team. I want to fight,” Carrington declared.“It’s incredible to represent Puerto Rico at the highest level and put the pride of my island where it belongs: at the top”.
Xander Zayas
