Xander Zayas might not have been that well known when he was undefeated and a champion but he is now.
He fought well last weekend.
Zayas is the classic case of how the professional boxing industry and sport has changed for the better now.
He lost his undefeated ‘0’ on his record last weekend in a great scrap in a 154 pounds title fight with Jaron Ennis but he is still being talked about in big fights.
Many of them.
People are raving about his bravery he showed, for the most part, and how he put on a great fight even in defeat against Ennis.
His stock rose and now it looks like he will move up to the 160 pounds limit at middleweight next up.
He had been dehydrating himself considerably in the run of the Jaron Ennis fight to make 154 pounds at super welterweight.
He lost a 7th round stoppage last weekend but if you look at the middleweight champions there at the moment, some of them are beatable for him.
Not that belts matter anymore, in terms of the old four, as they don’t.
But the likes of Carlos Adames and Erislandy Lara hold some form of titles there at 160 pounds at the moment.
Lara is not what he was. He’s fading — as boxing returns to the masses — Lara is a fighter not at his best anymore.
Adames is a fight Zayas will like his chances in surely.
Other belts are vacant and another one might become soon and besides — there is really no lineal champion at middleweight at the moment.
There is no one really there at the moment that spectators or those in boxing would safely say is the lineal middleweight champion of the world.
The division is weak and someone like boxer Xander Zayas who was not one of boxing’s great world champions — can win fights there.
He can even be in big fights in general next up there — not for titles — off the back off the Jaron Boots Ennis performance alone.
That is a great thing.
Both for him and the sport of boxing — that matchmaking continues to and will do so — work like this.
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