Xander Zayas’ defense style of fighting will be tested tonight in his 12-round against pressure fighter Jorge Garcia for the vacant WBO Junior Middleweight title in Madison Square Garden Theater in New York.
Garcia threatens Zayas’ unbeaten record
Garcia (33-4, 26 costs) provides a massive test for Zayas (21-0, 13 COs), as he has talent, in contrast to the 21 fighters against which Xander was combined by his promoters on the top rank. Although Jorge Garcia is nowhere near the top five 154 pounds in the division, he is still much better than the level of opposition to which Zayas is linked in his six-year-old pro career.
Main Card: Zayas, Carrington, Vargas
- Xander Zayas vs. Jorge Garcia Perez
- Bruce Carrington Te Mateus Heita
- Emiliano Vargas against Alexander Espinoza
Preliminary undercap at 6pm ET on ESPN+
- Rohan Polanco vs. Quinton Randall
- Juanmita Lopez de Jesus vs. Jorge Gonzalez-Sanchez
- Yan Santana vs. Aaron Alameda
- Steven Navarro vs. Cristopher Rios
- Julius Ballo vs. Brandan Ayala
Top Rank’s Zayas Star Plan
Tonight’s event is the last for the top rank with ESPN as the company ends its broadcasting agreement. Interestingly, Top Rank Zayas chose to connect against Garcia, rather than a more proven fighter with a more entertaining, crowded-pleasant style of fighting.
This indicates their desire to catapore the Puerto Rican fighter Zayas. They want to make him in a mega-star like fighters from the island. This is more problematic because he can’t hit and is a hit-and-run-run-kind of fighter.
Carrington’s featherweight championship match
In the main support fight, Bruce Carrington (15-0, 9 costs) battles for the vacant WBC-TUSShrian featherweight title against #11-ranked Mateus Hiata (14-0, 9 COs) in a 12-round competition.
The choice of hiata gives Carrington, 28, a better chance of winning compared to as the top rank has chosen one of the higher selected contenders. It’s a competent match on their part, just as they do with their head fighter, Zayas.
Carrington is a good basic Slugger, but he was exposed by Sulaiman Segawa last year. He was fortunate to win over the Ugandan -born Segawa. Nevertheless, the battle showed the flaws in Carrington’s game, which revealed that he is not the fighter who believes fans.
Last updated on 07/26/2025
