It’s fixed now: Xander Zayas will defend his WBA and WBO titles against Jaron “Boots” Ennis on June 27 at the Barclays Center. The duel between the undefeated superstars will take place live on DAZN PPV and promises to be one of the hottest matchups of the summer.
Xander Zayas and Jaron “Boots” Ennis will indeed meet next. The pairing, which has been the subject of intense talk for days, is now officially confirmed. Zayas will put his WBA and WBO light middleweight belts on the line on June 27 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The event will be broadcast live and exclusively on DAZN PPV. The event is a joint project between Matchroom and Top Rank.
In sporting terms, the duel is at the absolute top level. Zayas has worked his way up to become boxing’s youngest unified champion in a short space of time with victories over Jorge Garcia Perez and Abass Baraou. Ennis, on the other hand, comes in as a former unified welterweight titleholder and has already made his first appearance at 154 pounds with a quick knockout.
Ennis was originally scheduled to fight Vergil Ortiz. This came to nothing after a court intervention in connection with Ortiz’s contract situation halted the planning. As a result, the door opened for the now confirmed unification match with Zayas.
For the weight class, the fight is a clear signal: this is not a clash between two names with a high market value, but between two real top talents at a time when both are still unbeaten. It is precisely this kind of match-up that gives a division its shape.
Text by Robin Josten