On Saturday night the island of Puerto Rico crowned its latest king. 22-year-old Xander Zayas defeated rugged Mexican Jorge “Chino” Garcia over 12 rounds to capture the vacant WBO super welterweight title. The decision was unanimous with scores of 119-109, 118-110 and 116-112 from the Theater at the legendary Madison Square Garden in the heart of New York City.
It was a bit surprising how easy of a night Zayas had with a bit more experienced and harder hitting Garcia. From the opening bell, Zayas masterfully controlled the distance and although Garcia was the taller and the fighter with the longer reach, the Puerto Rican was able to land jabs from the outside and use his legs to move easily around the ring making the Mexican chase him. It didn’t take long to realize Garcia did not have a plan B and all Zayas had to do to capture his first world title was to keep doing what he was doing.
Which he did.
Now Zayas joins and elite list of fighters from Puerto Rico who have captured the mind and soul of the island. From Tito Trinidad to Miguel Cotto to Hector “Macho” Camacho and Wilfred Benitez to Wilfredo Gomez among others. Will he be able to carry the hopes and dreams of his fellow boricuas? Or will he cave into the pressure a la Felix Verdejo? That is an extreme but in boxing there is a thin line between glory and disgrace.
Shields Dominates in Detroit
The self-proclaimed GWOAT Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (17-0, 3KO) remained undefeated and kept all the belts against Lani Daniels (11-3-2, 1KO) of New Zealand. The event sold out the Little Ceasar’s Arena in Detroit and was broadcast live on DAZN. Although it was a massive event, it paled in comparison with was lived a couple of weeks ago on Netflix.
After the ten round bout which Shields not surprisingly dominated with scores of 100-90 and 99-91×2, the Flint, Michigan, native stated that fight was her last with longtime promotor Dmitry Salita. Although Shields did not discard the possibility of resigning with Salita, she did state she wanted to test the free agent waters.
Obviously the clear choice for any female fighter of a certain level is MVP. Jake Paul and company are signing every female fighter that makes a difference in the sport. It would only be fitting for the woman who considers herself the best to ever lace up a pair of gloves to be on the biggest platform available. With Savannah Marshall and Shadasia Green already signed to the outfit and with enough in the coffers to make a fight with anybody else (Franchon Crews-Dezurn), the deal should be a no-brainer.
Other Musings
- There is strong rumors undefeated WBA lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis will soon announce his retirement from the sport. The 30-year-old has not fought since a majority draw against Lamont Roach this past March. It is no secret Davis has had numerous run-ins with the law and just recently it was known he was arrested in Miami Beach for a domestic dispute. If he truly retires, he will be leaving a number of fights, not to mention cash, on the table.
- Jake Paul’s MVP continue to take over the female boxing world announcing today a slew of new signings including former world champions Shannon Courtenay and Yesica Nery Plata, current world champions Jasmine Artiga and Desley Robinson and amateur standout Sa’Rai Brown-El.
- Despite testing positive for two banned substances, Francisco “Chihuas” Rodriguez will get another shot at the interim WBC flyweight title against Galal Yafai with the local commission overturning the first result a “No Contest” and the WBC ordering the rematch.
