WBA junior middleweight champion Abass Baraou (17-1, 9 KOs) will be on the road again, facing WBO 154-lb titleholder Xander Zayas (22-0, 13 KOs) on January 31, 2026 at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
There is no information from Top Rank, the promoters of the Baraou vs. Zayas event, across the broadcast platform for January 31st. Boxing fans will be interested to know.
Top Rank’s long-running eight-year broadcast deal with ESPN ended on July 26, 2025. Since then they have been without a home. Surprisingly, they haven’t found another broadcast platform for their talented fighters to showcase their skills.
Can Zayas take the heat?
German Baraou (31) will enter enemy territory to wrest the WBO title from 23-year-old, inexperienced Puerto Rican Xander in his first defense of his crown. This is a fight that Baraou will need a good set of wheels to catch Zayas because he is a shooter and he tends to hold a lot.
Baraou looked outstanding in his last fight, defeating WBA interim 154-lb champion Yoenis Tellaz by a 12-round unanimous decision in a pure war on August 23, 2025. A month later, the WBA elevated Baraou to full junior middleweight champion on September 21 after previous champion Terence Crawford vacated the title.
Complaints and complaints
Zayas captured the vacant WBO 154-pound title in his last fight, beating Jorge Garcia Perez by a 12-round unanimous decision on July 26, 2025, at Madison Square Garden in New York.
It wasn’t a pretty fight to watch unless one enjoys watching movement and frequent holds. This was the tactic Xander used to neutralize the Marqarito-like pressure and inside skills of Garcia Perez.
The 23-year-old Zayas fights nothing like past Puerto Rican talents Felix Trinidad and Miguel Cotto. As far as Chris Williams can tell, there is no similarity in Zayas’ fighting style to those greats. If Xander held and moved less, he would have a better chance of matching up with those retired legends.
Baraou’s statement of intent
“I give him full credit for stepping up and accepting the fight. Not everyone will take that risk, especially at this stage, but that’s what makes this game special,” says Baraou. “I’m preparing to go to Puerto Rico, bring some heat and show the world that I’m a real force in this division. I’m not just coming to show up. I’m coming to make a statement, leave with another belt.”
For Barou to win, he’s going to have to have quick feet to catch up with Zayas because he’s going to be on the move throughout. Abass will also need an answer for the clinch that Zayas is going to use, as it is a huge part of his game.
Last updated on 11/10/2025
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