NO TRASH TALK REQUIRED
Ring: What Puerto Rican fighters did you idolize growing up? XZ: Miguel Cotto. He was on top of the food chain for me growing up. I have to put up there all the Puerto Rican legends like Tito Trinidad, Macho Camacho, Wilfredo Gomez, Wilfred Benitez and Carlos Ortiz, and I cannot forget Amanda Serrano. She’s my big sister. I look up to her. I love her. I loved the way Cotto took care of business. He was a technician. When he decided to retire, he had nothing else to prove. I loved the way Cotto carried himself inside and outside the ring. I have a good relationship with him and he will always answer. Ring: What do you take from Cotto’s style? XZ: The body work. He was a technician. Ring: Who, in your opinion, is the face of Puerto Rican boxing? XZ: Not me. Amanda Serrano is the face of Puerto Rico boxing. She has done so much for Puerto Rican boxing, and so much in boxing. It is not up to me to say I am the face of Puerto Rican boxing or I am this or I am that. I just want to go out and do my job. If the fans make me the face of Puerto Rican boxing, so be it, but I just want to be Xander Zayas. I want to keep getting better. I want to keep winning world titles. I want to continue being myself and making Puerto Rico proud. Ring: You were the youngest fighter Top Rank has ever signed, in February 2019 when you were a 16-year-old welterweight. You were 17 when you made your pro debut. How scary was that? XZ: I remember the main event for that fight was Shakur Stevenson against Joet Gonzalez. Jared Anderson also made his pro debut, and Mikaela
when I moved to the United States, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I used to go back to Puerto Rico every summer with my family. I would come back to the U.S. out of shape and lose fights. That happened because I wasn’t disciplined. But when you are a kid, you can get away with being good based on your talent. When I was 5, 6, 9, 11, 12 years old, I had talent and never put in the work. I won on talent. I thought to myself that my talent alone would win. I will never forget my father, Orlando Garcia, having a conversation with me when I was 13 and it changed my life – it changed everything. My father wasn’t mad about me wasting my talent. It was about taking boxing seriously, or was it something I was doing just for fun? My father’s conversation was to see where my head was. My family was on a limited budget. People see me now and think I come from money. Shit, my parents still work. My father is an industrial mechanic, and my mother is a secretary. My sister, Ariana, is only two years younger than me. My sister made a lot of sacrifices. My family made sacrifices to send me to these different tournaments. That took money. That took time. I was the one getting all the attention. My sister needed shoes. My sister had ambitions, too. It’s when I decided to take boxing more seriously.
That was a lot to ask for with two kids around the same age. I saw the sacrifices that everyone around me were making. I couldn’t let them down. I couldn’t let myself down. It was an easy decision to commit to boxing. Ring: What was the first stepping stone in your career? XZ: It wasn’t so much an opponent, but it was in a training camp for James Martin in “The Bubble” in February 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. I sparred with Tank Davis. I worked with Robert Easter, Adrien Broner, guys who were world champions back then. That training camp told me I could be a world champion. I got a lot of work with Broner and Easter. It was great work. There were good days and bad days, but I was constantly learning and they wanted me in there with them. That told me I have something. Even the bad days were good days, because I was continuing to grow. That was a turning point for me. I beat Martin by decision. I really built something out of this. Ring: Your Puerto Rican heritage is very important to you, isn’t it? XZ: It is. Puerto Rico is my world. I take pride in Puerto Rico and I take pride in being a Puerto Rican champion. I enjoy being part of the culture.
Mayer fought on that card, too. I stopped Genesis Wynn in the first round. It’s scary that it was six years ago. I remember the adrenaline rush going through my body, and then waking up the next morning feeling like I fought a 12-rounder. A month later, I was in the ring again. I was really active. Ring: Who has been your toughest opponent so far? XZ: Probably my last opponent, Baraou. I remember looking across the ring every single round and he had this face of “I am coming to destroy you.” That told me he wants it as bad as I want it. Ring: What was your best victory as a pro? XZ: Probably Roberto Valenzuela in September 2023. I looked poised. I looked composed. I looked beautiful. I followed the game plan from start to finish. It was a perfect game plan that night. Ring: The Ring has you ranked No. 3 at 154 pounds behind Vergil Ortiz and Fundora. Who do you want to fight at 154? XZ: All of them. (laughs) Give me all of them at 154 on the same night. I’ll fight them two rounds each. (laughs) I want to fight them all. I am a fighter. Everyone at 154 knows how and where to contact me. Ring: What do you think about Ortiz? XZ: Vergil is a great fighter. He has shown it throughout the years. It’s just funny that I became a world champion before he did. I know I can beat Vergil. I do everything better than Vergil. Ring: What do you think about Fundora? XZ: Fundora is a class act. He is a gentleman. He is a tall pressure fighter. I feel I can do a lot of things against him. Taking nothing away from him, but all he is is a tall fighter. I am way more athletic than he is.
If the fans make me the face of Puerto Rican boxing, so be it, but I just want to be Xander Zayas. I want to keep getting better. I want to keep winning world titles. I want to continue being myself and making Puerto Rico proud.
Ring: You have a great reputation as being one of boxing’s good guys. Is that something you embrace or disregard, considering this is a sport full of not- so-good guys? XZ: I love being the good guy. I love being the nice guy. I take pride in that. It’s why I am never in any junk before fights. In the end, we have to get in the ring and we have to punch each other. Trash talking is not going to get you any money. I don’t feel I have to put any dance on or show on for people. When you have to talk trash, you don’t believe in yourself. You have to talk trash to sell a fight. When you are loved by people who support you, there is no need to talk trash. I’d rather be me – a good guy. The world is mine. I have to take it now. Ring: With your growing reputation, where is the craziest place you have been recognized? XZ: OK, this is crazy: I was at a fight in Orlando, Florida, and I wanted to go to the bathroom before sitting down. I pulled up to one of the urinals and this guy comes up next to me and says, “Hey, you’re Xander Zayas.” The next thing you know, he takes out his phone to take a picture. I was like, “Yo, wait, give me a second here.” I let the guy take a picture outside the bathroom, after we both washed our hands. (laughs) Joseph Santoliquito is an award- winning sportswriter who has worked for Ring Magazine since October 1997 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow @JSantoliquito.
Some of these fans do not understand the game and the work ethic and the business. I am very athletic, and when you have the work ethic with athleticism … Boots has shown he belongs among the best. It would be a competitive fight, but I can do a lot more things in the ring than he can. Go down the list at 154. I have something over all of them – I’m a two-time world champion and I am 23 years old. I’m comfortable making 154. I have been very professional my whole career and very happy that I am the youngest and most accomplished in the whole division. I want two more fights this year. I’m not the hunted. I’m still hunting. Fundora and Kelly have the two belts I want. Ring: You won your first title taking the vacant WBO belt against Perez last July in Madison Square Garden. This set up the first title defense against Abass Baraou. Tell me about that. XZ: We had to bring in a German judge (Oliver Brien) to make Baraou feel comfortable. I wanted to be fair to Abass. I wanted to make sure everything we did was fair. OK, there was one Puerto Rican judge (Jose Roberto Torres), so it was only fair we had a German judge. I knew I won the majority of the rounds. Abass himself even told me after the fight that I won. But I heard the scorecards read and was wondering what was going on here. As a fighter, you know if you won or lost. I knew I won. It was nerve-wracking hearing “we have a split decision.” I knew when to raise my hand, when they said “Puerto Rican pride.” Abass was a good guy, a respectful guy.
Ring: Your feelings about Boots Ennis? XZ: I know I can give Boots a problem.
Abass Baraou was competitive but outgunned against Zayas.
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