It’s official: Xander Zayas will defend his WBA and WBO super welterweight titles against Jaron “Boots” Ennis.
Top Rank’s Zayas (23-0, 13 KO) and Matchroom’s Ennis (35-0, 31 KO) will headline a DAZN-streamed card on June 27 from Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, in what is a truly fantastic matchup of young boxing stars who are both still on the rise.
Zayas, 23, won the then-vacant WBO title last July, beating Jorge Garcia, and unified with the WBA belt on January 31, taking it from Abass Baraou in a very good, competitive fight in Puerto Rico.
Ennis, 28, has been trying to get a more marquee-level matchup for a while now. He held the IBF title at welterweight and moved up in weight last October, thrashing Uisma Lima inside of two minutes.
Philadelphia’s “Boots” had been linked to a fight with Vergil Ortiz Jr, which was definitely wanted by boxing fans, but Ortiz and Golden Boy Promotions are in the middle of a pretty serious dispute, sidelining Vergil for the time being.
Instead, Ennis and Matchroom turned their attention to Top Rank, who just joined the squad of promoters working with DAZN, and are making an immediate and highly-encouraging, high-stakes clash with one of their top young stars facing a standout from a rival promoter.
This one’s a credit to all involved, the fighters and promoters, two unbeaten, young fighters taking the risk in the biggest fight either can make at the moment, and it’s absolutely one to look forward to on the schedule.
