Xander Zayas accepts fight against Vergil Ortiz Jr.: Too much too soon?

Xander Zayas claims he was offered a fight against WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. and accepted it on the Feb. 22 card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Is Zayas ready?

Zayas is still inexperienced and has never fought a world-class fighter in his five-year career. Top Rank is trying to make the Puerto Rican Zayas a star on the East Coast, just like they tried to do with Edgar Berlanga. Pairing Zayas with Vergil Ortiz or another top fighter at 154 would be a bad idea. If this is all about the money and Zayas gets his reward through a huge loss, that makes sense.

Many fans believe that Top Rank is this create intentionally Xander Zayas in a wrong star to make money from East Coast fans in New York who are desperate for someone to fill the void left by Miguel Cotto when he retired years ago.

Zayas (20-0, 12 KOs), the No. 1-ranked WBO 154-pound contender, says he was offered the fight with Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) and had an hour to to decide. Xander states that he said “yes” after just a minute. It sounds admirable that he agreed so quickly to this offer to fight Ortiz, but it’s not a good idea.

If Top Rank truly believes in Zayas, which is questionable, pairing him with Vergil Jr. so early in his career is a stupid idea. Again, he can’t hit and seems weak in his ability to take a hit and his experience is non-existent. Zayas has fought inferior opponents up to this point and was still entertaining.

Ortiz vs. Zayas: Mismatch

Neither Zayas’ promoter at Top Rank nor Vergil’s management at Golden Boy have confirmed the offer to the 22-year-old Puerto Rican fighter. But if he’s Vergil’s option, this could be a mismatch.

Top Rank’s clever matchmakers have gradually brought in Florida-based Xander, and he has never fought anyone remotely resembling a top-notch, world-class fighter. Zayas hasn’t looked good in many of his recent fights, showing no power and unwillingness to put his foot down.

It would be better for fans if a quality, experienced contender was chosen against whom Vergil would defend his interim WBC title on February 22, rather than the easy-hitting newcomer Zayas.

Better options for Vergil Jr

– Charles Conwell
– Erickson Lubin
–Errol Spence Jr
– Yoenis Tellez
– Israil Madrimov
–Jesus Ramos

They gave me an hour to say yes. I said yes within a minute. @VergilOrtiz @trboxing @Turki_alalshikh @GoldenBoyBoxing https://t.co/cAoVZDSdLG

— Xander Zayas (@XanderZayas) November 30, 2024