THE RESULT: Xander Zayas delivered a shut-out win in opposition to former 154lbs world champion Patrick Teixeira on the Madison Sq. Backyard Theatre in New York. A Puerto Rican carnival environment performed its half in making certain Zayas’s dream of headlining the venue was a memorable one. And the 21-year-old’s dominance within the combat was mirrored on the three scorecards (100-90 twice, 99-91).
KEY MOMENTS: The undefeated super-welterweight landed a thudding uppercut within the opening spherical to sign his intentions. Within the fifth, Zayas proved he’s dedicated to hitting no matter is open to him by thumping the shoulders of his Brazilian opponent in a bid to interrupt him down. Cheered on by partisan help on the eve of the Puerto Rican day parade, Zayas chipped away and, within the eighth, threw a bombardment of pictures that Texieira did properly to outlive for the ultimate six minutes.
RECORDS: Zayas prolonged his unbeaten report to 19-0 (12 KOs), whereas Teixeira’s fifth defeat takes him to 34-5 (25 KOs).
TALKING POINTS: The great Puerto Rican fanbase has been crying out for an additional nationwide hero to hitch their wealthy boxing historical past. It’s nonetheless early days for Zayas, but when he can navigate by a deep 154lb division and emerge as a world champion, then he may lead from the entrance with Subriel Matias and possibly even Edgar Berlanga alongside him.
QUOTABLE: Afterwards, Zayas paid tribute to his opponent who not too long ago suffered a household bereavement. “A pair weeks in the past we discovered that Patrick’s mom handed away and like a warrior he was right here and placed on a present so I need to give a spherical of applause to Patrick Teixeira.”
“He was robust. Being a veteran he knew find out how to survive in there,” Zayas stated. “I really feel prefer it was a tricky take a look at however I handed it with flying colors.
“It’s like everyone at High Rank tells me, ‘Earlier than you go 12 you gotta go 10.’ I did it immediately and I graduated in opposition to a former world champion. That was the rounds that I wanted.”
WHAT’S NEXT: Zayas will seemingly retain his top-five rating with the WBO and maybe transfer up a spot. Chatting with ESPN, he referred to as for fights in opposition to fellow top-five WBO contenders Erickson Lubin (4) and Josh Kelly (3) in addition to his new stablemate and buddy Vito Mielnicki Jr. A step up at school might be subsequent for the Florida-based Puerto Rican, who’s slowly however certainly making his method into the deep finish of the super-welterweight division.
