Unified super welterweight champion Xander Zayas spends some time talking to RingTV about his upcoming title defense against Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis. During the segment Zayas explains how the fight came about, the ease of negotiations, and why he feels like he’ll have the edge over Boots come fight night, while also giving his thoughts on fellow 154 lb champion Sebastian Fundora. Check out some of what Zayas had to say below.
Zayas on taking Boots fight
“It was important for me because for me to say that I’m the best, I have to face the best, and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis is one of the best names in the division alongside other fighters and myself. So come June 27 I will claim why I’m the best 154 pounder in the world.
“I feel like a lot of people love to be average in life. I wasn’t born to be average. I was born to make history, I was born to keep writing history…This is the biggest test and I’m going to write history one more time. That what this is all about. That’s what you’re in the sport of boxing for.
“It’s easy to just get complacent and just fight old names and old guys that were champions three or four years ago [like Fundora did], just fight an easy fight that you know you can win and get easy money. But when everything is on the line, when everybody is doubting you, that’s when the stakes are high, that’s when you got to perform and that’s where I perform at my best.”
On Boots’ confidence that he’ll win the fight
“That’s fair. I think that’s the way he should think. If he didn’t think that way then he wouldn’t be a fighter. I feel like I’m the same way — I’m going to rip his heart out, I’m going to take him to somewhere he’s never been. He’s going to feel uncomfortable, he’s going to be uncomfortable when it comes to fight night. It’s easy to face guys that you’re bigger than them, more athletic than them. But when you’re facing a guy that’s as big as you, as athletic as you, that is as composed and smart as you, it’s a whole different story. Come June 27 he will see why this 23-year-old is a unified world champion.”
On how he rates Boots
“He’s a good fighter but I don’t think he’s a great fighter. I’m going to do what I’m going to do, June 27, and I’m going to come out victorious. 23 men have tried, 23 men have failed, and this will be number 24. He will try, I know he will come prepared, and he will fail like the other 23 did.
“He’s never been uncomfortable. He’s always had it his way. He always have fighters that put up a little bit of a fight and then they quit. When you have a young champion that is willing to risk everything to go in there, man, that’s scary. And he has me now in front of him and he’s going to have to adjust because he’s going to be really, really uncomfortable come fight night.
“He eats every straight punch, he eats every hook. I mean, I don’t know, there’s a lot of things that I can take advantage of. I’m as athletic as he is, I’m as tall, as big as he is. And again, he’s just never faced somebody like me before.
On what he thinks of Sebastian Fundora
“He dominated a Thurman that hasn’t been in an elite level fight since 2019. He was supposed to dominate. If he didn’t, it was a problem. He was supposed to do what he did so I wasn’t surprised about it. Yes, Keith Thurman was good when he was Keith Thurman. Now, it’s not the same. Sebastian Fundora’s a good fighter, tall guy, lanky guy. He decided to use his reach for the last couple fights so that’s a good thing. But I feel like with the right movement, with the right game plan, it’s a puzzle easy to solve.”
On if he thinks he’ll ever fight Fundora
“What can I tell you? It was supposed to be made last year. Now he’s saying that it makes a lot more sense because I have two belts. Well, you had them before. You could’ve kept them the same way you lost it because you wanted to. So, I don’t know because also his promoter is saying, or his manager is saying, that they’re not fighting outside of PBC so how can you negotiate that? How can you go into a negotiation knowing that this guy doesn’t want to fight anybody but the elderly staff they have at PBC?”
