“Guys mentioned something about Zayas. I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m ready to go now. Now give me Xander Zayas. Let’s go,'” Tim Tszyu said. Jai McAllister following his recent 10-round unanimous decision victory over Anthony Velasquez on December 17th. “I only beat one Puerto Rican. Let’s go for the main Puerto Rican.
Zayas still needs to get past Baraou before he can consider taking a risky fight against Ennis or Tszyu. Germany’s Baraou showed plenty of heart and aggression in his win over WBA interim 154-lb champion Yoenis Tellez last August. He walked through every punch the Cuban-born Tellez threw to apply pressure.
Baraou’s willingness to take punches to get his own is what makes him a threat to Zayas. What we don’t know is how well he can handle the hoofs Xander will be using. A big part of Zayas’ game is the punch-and-grab.
For Abass to land, he’ll have to peel Zayas off of him, as that’s probably going to be a constant thing. Fighters who are good at working a hand free to negate this tactic won’t be a problem for him to punish Xander for holding on. We don’t know if Baraou is one of those. If not, it’s going to be a long night for him and a potentially boring fight for the fans.
If Xander can capture the WBA title from Baraou next month, it would make him a dual belt champion, and it would make a fight against ‘Boots’ or Tszyu even bigger.
Zayas captured the vacant WBO junior middleweight title, beating Jorge Garcia Perez by a 12-round unanimous decision last summer on July 26. Xander’s performance was on the dull side, with a lot of holding and moving.
It was like watching a bigger version of Shakur Stevenson, but with more clinching involved. For Zayas, it was a typical fight for him. He does not have a crowd-pleasing fighting style, as he is unwilling to stand and engage.
Part of the reason for that is a lack of power. He does not possess the power of fighters like Ennis, Bakhram Murtazaliev or even Israil Madrimov.
Zayas vs. San Juan, Puerto Rico.
