In the present day in the sport of Boxing for a variety of reasons, it is rare to see fighters either regarded as stars/superstars of the sport or those whose star is on the rise, take a risk by facing another fighter at a similar stage while both are in their competitive primes or approaching their prime. The encounter between undefeated WBO/WBA Jr. Middleweight world champion Xander Zayas and unbeaten former unified Welterweight world champion Jaron Ennis on June 27th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY provided one such rarity.
If one were honest, they would say that it was not a necessity for either fighter at this stage in their respective careers to meet each other at this point in time. More often than not, a fight like this is one where rival promoters will choose to let simmer while their respective fighters continue to face other opposition and build both their respective fanbases as well as generate buzz in a potential fight that after given a period of time often becomes a bigger attraction in terms of an event.
While such methods of promotion are often used, such tactics can prove to be frustrating for Boxing fans who want to see fights made in a more timely manner. There is also the inherent risk that by letting a fight simmer for two long, both potential combatants risk damaging their standing by possibly suffering a loss to a different opponent that in turn, negatively affects the potential promotion/mega fight that promoters might be strategizing towards.
This was an instance, however, where no such tactics were attempted by the co-promoters Eddie Hearn, who represents Ennis and Hall of Famer Bob Arum, who represents Zayas. Rather this was a rare time in the sport where the fighters themselves chose to roll the dice to test themselves against each other. Both fighters did not hesitate and were more than willing to engage in what proved to be a heated battle from the opening bell.
Both fighters immediately stood and were willing to engage with each other. A high-tempo pace from the outset, what stood out immediately was Ennis’ ability to switch back and forth between an orthodox and southpaw stance as well as his approaching the champion at varying angles. He quickly established a home for his left hand as he frequently landed straight lefts on Zayas, which ultimately proved to be the catalyst to land a short, beautifully timed right hand that dropped Zayas in round one.
It became apparent to this observer at this point in the bout that the main issue for the champion was not only Ennis’ hand speed, but also his timing. Though it appeared after two rounds of being consistently beaten to the punch that a change in the champion’s approach may have been well-advised, Zayas continued to stay in punching range, was not discouraged by what was happening to him early on, and to his credit, did appear to momentarily stun Ennis with a right hand of his own in round three. This seemingly set off a series of exchanges between rounds three and four that were among the best of the fight.
In round five, what had developed into a fire fight between the two fighters continued as, despite being at a deficit in terms of punching power and being dropped earlier in the bout, Zayas continued to stay in close and trade punches with Ennis. A right uppercut to the head, however, would send the champion down hard to the canvas for a second time. Although he struggled to beat the ten count, Zayas managed to get to his feet at the count of nine. It was at this stage that Ennis unleashed what can only be described as a hellacious beating on Zayas where it appeared that Referee Harvey Dock was inching closer and was perhaps looking for Ennis to land one more significant blow to give him the justification to stop the fight. To the champion’s credit, he managed to make it out of the round.
It was between rounds five and six where Dock sent out seemingly the last warning sign fighters often hear prior to a referee stopping a fight, telling Zayas in his corner, just after his handlers asked him what round it was in a clear evaluation to ensure their fighter had all his facilities and was alert, that he was taking too many shots and that Zayas needed to show Dock something or the fight would be stopped. In all truth and honesty with the reader, as one who has covered thousands of fights on every possible level of Boxing ranging from amateur, to traditional professional Boxing, to professional Bareknuckle bouts, I have seen referees including Harvey Dock on occasion give fighters a variation of the warning he gave Zayas between rounds five and six. While it goes without saying that in over three decades in the sport and a lifetime as a fan before the period I entered combat sports as a writer, I have seen fighters take beatings similar to the one Ennis had administered to Zayas in the fifth round, sometimes even worse, and though it does not tend to happen often when a referee or ringside physician gives a fighter such a warning where the fighter manages to pull off a come from behind victory, this observer would not have been against stopping this fight between rounds.
Although no one can take away from the heart a fighter in Zayas’ position shows under conditions like this in trying to not only show their mettle, but in this case also, in defense of a world title, there comes a point where a decision has to be made, not so much regarding a fight in progress or the loss of a world championship, but the long-term picture for the fighter not just in regard to their career moving forward, but of their life after Boxing. It goes without saying not just in regard to Boxing, but all combat sports, that each fight whether win, lose, or draw, takes something out of a fighter and that is directly attributable to the toll a fighter takes both in training for competition as well as in the fights themselves. Xander Zayas is a twenty-three year old young man who likely has plans for himself both in regard to his career as well as life after Boxing, and I just feel that if the decision were made to stop this fight after round five.
Despite the view of this observer, the fight continued and Zayas did show an ability to recuperate in what proved to be a relatively uneventful round six. It would be in round seven, however, that this encounter would come to a close as an accumulation of blows set off by a series of body punches by Ennis sent Zayas down for a third time. As there always seems to be in Boxing, whether legitimate or not, an element of controversy would emerge as while Referee Harvey Dock was counting Zayas, there appeared to be a momentary pause and then the fight was stopped.
While the majority of this column was written in the immediate hours after the fight took place, yours truly did something he rarely does and held off releasing the column for a few days. Not because of a lack of commitment or being lackadaisical, but because there was this seemingly overwhelming perception that Zayas had in the words of many online and YouTube commentators “Quit” following the final knockdown. Speaking only for myself, I did not observe Zayas verbally or otherwise indicate to Dock that he wanted the fight stopped, Zayas did look briefly away from Dock towards his corner as the corner indicated that they wanted the fight stopped as Dock promptly did. This was confirmed by Boxing Analyst and Senior writer for Sports Illustrated Chris Mannix, who was ringside doing commentary for digital sports streaming network DAZN who commented on X (formerly Twitter) in the days following the fight that Zayas’ corner had a representative of the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) step onto the ring apron and indicate they wanted the fight stopped.
While anyone and everyone certainly has a right to their opinion and I am by no means am challenging one's right to express their opinion, whether I personally agree with those points of view or not, in this case I do feel those, particularly YouTube commentators jumped to conclusions and incorrectly labeled Zayas as a “Quitter” either before knowing the facts or perhaps in an effort to get more views for their respective content. Although we now live in an era where the term “Influencer” has become part of the sport of Boxing and we have heard those labeled “YouTubers” say they want to be viewed as credible and taken seriously within the sport, with all due respect, there is a difference between journalism and having facts correct and manufacturing a supposed “Controversy” in an attempt to get more attention. There are times where those of us who cover the sport make an error, we are all after all, human, however, it is the responsibility of those who make such errors to correct their mistakes whenever they emerge. Although my comments here are by no means an effort to try and discredit YouTube as a platform, that in fact I use on a daily basis, or to single out any one in particular, whether a YouTube commentator or not, either one is covering a sport or a given topic objectively or they are allowing fandom to influence their comments, which again may have the underlying motivation of trying to increase viewership of their content. If it is the latter, there is no credibility or legitimacy.
From my perspective, Xander Zayas’ corner made the right call. Zayas fought his heart out, but unfortunately for him came up against a fighter in Jaron Ennis that could ultimately become a fighter viewed as a generational talent when all is said and done. Put simply, on that night, Ennis was the better fighter.
Now, as a two-division world champion, who is now a unified world champion in the Jr. Middleweight division, as he was in the Welterweight division before he moved up in weight, appears to be in prime position to potentially make a run to be an undisputed champion of the division. Next up for Ennis and likely viewed by many to be his most significant threat in the division could be current WBC world champion Sebastian Fundora, who could next defend his portion of the World Jr. Middleweight championship against current WBC number one Jr. Middleweight contender Ermal Hadribeaj. Though obviously, the focus will be on a potential unification bout between Ennis and Fundora, the focus will remain on the 154lb. Jr. Middleweight division moving forward as a course for an eventual showdown seems to be taking shape.
“And That's The Boxing Truth.”
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