The Truth About Xander Zayas: Is Top Rank’s Matchmaking Creating An Overhyped Fighter?

Xander Zayas says his ring IQ and boxing skills are going to be too much for Jorge Garcia tonight in their fight for the vacant WBO junior middleweight title at Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City.

(Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank)

Top Rank’s Zayas Matchmaking

Zayas has been treated like gold by Top Rank since he turned pro in 2019, despite not having an exceptional amateur background. They’ve carefully matched him against certain guys to build his record without really testing him. Now, they’ve chosen the right guy for Xander to have success.

This is the perfect situation for Zayas because this couldn’t have happened if he had fought for the other titles at 154. The WBO’s rankings have greatly helped him. Without that, Zayas’s chance of winning a world title would be nil against a contender like Israil Madrimov, Jaron Ennis, Vergil Ortiz Jr., or Serhii Bohachuk.

“He doesn’t have the boxing skills that I have. I’m really sharp fighting at short range and long range,” said Xander Zayas to the Ring Magazine channel, downgrading Jorge Garcia ahead of their fight tonight.

Zayas’ Ego From Soft Fights

Xander is wrong. He’s not a better fighter than Jorge Perez on the inside.  Perez is a far better fighter on the inside than Zayas. Top Rank’s habit of matching Zayas against lesser fighters like Slawa Spomer, Damian Sosa, and Patrick Teixeira has blown up his ego.

It’s the same thing we saw Edgar Berlanga when he was wth Top Rank. They matched him weakly, like they’re doing with Zayas, and he started sounding the same way, thinking he was actually good.

Zayas is a boxer and definitely has better skills than Garcia. He’s also the bigger fighter in terms of how much weight he packs on after rehydrating. Zayas is essentially a middleweight that drains down to 154. He can still get away with that, but not for long. He’s going to have to move up to 160 soon because he’s already looking deathly at his weigh-ins.

Power Concerns for Zayas

Without an increase in punching power, Xander’s career will end once he’s forced to fight at middleweight. Although Bob Arum of Top Rank mentioned wanting to match Zayas against IBF and WBO middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly, it would be crazy for him to do so. He’s not physically equipped to fight guys like that.

“Conwell didn’t have that. He came with one game plan, and it was the perfect game plan for Jorge Garcia. He fights best at short range,” said Zayas.

Conwell tried to fight Jorge Garcia from the outside, but he couldn’t keep him off. Garcia kept walking him down, forcing him to fight on the inside. Charles isn’t a mover like Xander is, so he couldn’t run around the ring to evade Garcia.

Xander’s Footwork and IQ

“I feel that my feet, my speed, my IQ are on a whole different level when it comes to fighting, and I’m going to show that. I knew I said where I was going to be in 2025. I knew I was going to be fighting for a world championship,” said Zayas.

If Garcia traps Zayas, he may knock him out because he’s a lot tougher than Zayas. When Zayas is stationary, he’s a very average fighter and gets hit. The only things that have kept him from being overwhelmed by the cans that Top Rank has consistently matched him against are his feet and his weight advantage.