Puerto Rican junior middleweight Xander Zayas is targeting a top-five opponent after a dominant unanimous decision win over Damian Sosa on Friday at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Zayas, 22, won all 10 rounds on the judges’ scorecards against Sosa, with each judge scoring the fight 100-90.
After the fight, Zayas (20-0, 12 KOs) expressed his desire for higher-ranked competition: “Whoever’s in the top five,” he said.
Zayas is ranked No. 3 by the WBO, No. 6 by the WBC and No. 7 by the IBF. Potential opponents include Charles Conwell, Israil Madrimov, Jesus Ramos Jr., Serhii Bohachuk and Erickson Lubin. Vito Mielnicki Jr., ranked in the WBA’s top five, fought on the same card and has discussed facing Zayas.
Zayas acknowledged Sosa (25-3, 12 KOs), who recently handed unbeaten prospect Marques Valle his first loss, for helping him level up.
“I told him he pushed me and elevated me to the next level,” Zayas said. “Now I feel like I’m ready. Before, I thought I was, but tonight I showed everyone that I’m ready for the elite names.”
Zayas has fought twice so far in 2024, winning both bouts by unanimous decision. Earlier this year, he defeated former titleholder Patrick Teixeira. Known for his knockout power, Zayas has now gone the distance in consecutive fights for only the second time in his career. He neutralized Sosa’s usual high output by limiting him to fewer punches.
“They said he usually throws 84 punches per round, but tonight, I did my job,” Zayas said. “Now I’ll relax and see what’s next.”
Lucas Ketelle is a proud member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and author of “Inside The Ropes of Boxing” (available on Amazon). Contact him on X @LukieBoxing.
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