Puerto Rican junior middleweight Xander Zayas is concentrating on a top-five opponent after a dominant unanimous choice win over Damian Sosa on Friday at The Theater at Madison Sq. Backyard in New York Metropolis.
Zayas, 22, gained all 10 rounds on the judges’ scorecards in opposition to Sosa, with every choose scoring the struggle 100-90.
After the struggle, Zayas (20-0, 12 KOs) expressed his want for higher-ranked competitors: “Whoever’s within the prime 5,” he mentioned.
Zayas is ranked No. 3 by the WBO, No. 6 by the WBC and No. 7 by the IBF. Potential opponents embody Charles Conwell, Israil Madrimov, Jesus Ramos Jr., Serhii Bohachuk and Erickson Lubin. Vito Mielnicki Jr., ranked within the WBA’s prime 5, fought on the identical card and has mentioned dealing with Zayas.
Zayas acknowledged Sosa (25-3, 12 KOs), who lately handed unbeaten prospect Marques Valle his first loss, for serving to him stage up.
“I instructed him he pushed me and elevated me to the following stage,” Zayas mentioned. “Now I really feel like I’m prepared. Earlier than, I assumed I used to be, however tonight I confirmed everybody that I’m prepared for the elite names.”
Zayas has fought twice up to now in 2024, successful each bouts by unanimous choice. Earlier this 12 months, he defeated former titleholder Patrick Teixeira. Recognized for his knockout energy, Zayas has now gone the gap in consecutive fights for less than the second time in his profession. He neutralized Sosa’s normal excessive output by limiting him to fewer punches.
“They mentioned he normally throws 84 punches per spherical, however tonight, I did my job,” Zayas mentioned. “Now I’ll chill out and see what’s subsequent.”
Lucas Ketelle is a proud member of the Boxing Writers Affiliation of America and creator of “Inside The Ropes of Boxing” (accessible on Amazon). Contact him on X @LukieBoxing.
