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Is Xander Zayas ready? Bob Arum’s “Great Talent” is in the face of the Jorge Garcia test

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Image: Is Xander Zayas Ready? Bob Arum's "Great Talent" Faces Jorge Garcia Test

Bob Arum will gladly see what his warrior, Xander Zayas, can do this Saturday when he fights with Jorge Garcia to get the free medium title of WBO at Madison Square Garden in Novel York. Arum says that Zayas (21-0, 13 KO) is “very dense” and “great talent”.

Is Zayas ready for Garcia?

“He is a great child. Very expressed and bilingual. So he is very desecient, said Bob Arum WarriorSpeaking of Xander Zayas. “This does not mean that he will be a great warrior. He worked tough on it and proved that he has great talent in the ring.”

Zayas did not prove that he is “a great talent in the ring.” This is the whole problem. With the opposition that the highest rank got into the ring, Zayas proved nothing.

Another champion of Puerto Ricing in boxing?

“Now he is fighting for the world championship title. I hope that on Saturday evening he will be crowned as another world champion in Puerto Rican,” said Arum about Xander.

The opposition, which Zayas had fought so far, was not good enough to predict for him a beneficial result against Jorge Garcia. We know that Zayas is good enough to defeat smaller fighters such as Damian Sosa, Sława Spomer and Patrick Teixeira.

“I watched this fight, Tziu and Fund,” said Arum as the possibility of fighting Zayas, who fights the Middle Medium WBC champion in the Union competition, if he captures the title of WBO on Saturday evening. “Either Tiszu lost something and wasn’t in his game or the fund turned into a superman.”

It was a combination of things that led to losing Tsiza for the second time. This is not Arum’s concern now. He should keep Zayas away from the fund, because he would probably do the same thing to him as Tiszu did.

Janibek duel for Zayas?

“Let’s win this fight first,” said Arum about Xander’s fight with Garcia. “There are many possibilities [for Zayas]. I don’t want to call anyone specifically, but there are many younger medium weight. We have a medium weight master with whom we could match him, i.e. Janibek. So there are many guys he can fight. “

Adaptation of Zayas to IBF and Master of Medium WBO WBO Janibek Alimkhanuly would be a bad idea. No matter how good Xander looks like on Saturday evening, putting him against Janibek would be a stupid idea. Zayas is not this kind of talent. He is a warrior at the level of finesse from the Shakur form.

Fitting him to the Power Puncher, such as Janibek or Bakhram Murtazaliev, would be a disaster. He could implode on Saturday, heading against Jorge Garcia. If this happens, the highest rank will be wasted all this time, trying to develop it over the last six years. If they had previously removed training wheels, they would discover if it is worth keeping it in the stable.

“The most essential fight is the guy he fights on Saturday, or Garcia, that he must defeat the first,” said Arum.

On Saturday it may be very bad for Zayas, and Garcia was blown up. This must be worried about Arum because he doesn’t know how Xander will do well. Until now, he adapted him to such a frail opposition that it is completely impossible to predict the result in this fight.

– –

Date: Saturday, July 26, 2025
Location: Theater in Madison Square Garden, Novel York

Starting times:

  • Undercard (Stream on ESPN+): 18:00 🇺🇸 / 23:00 BST 🇬🇧

  • Main card (on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+): 21:00 ET 🇺🇸 / 2:00 BST 🇬🇧 (Sunday)

Streaming: Live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN+
Tickets: Available at ticketmaster.com


Confirmed composition of the fight

Main card (21.00 / 2 in the morning BST):

  • Xander Zayas vs. Jorge Garcia – 12 rounds, empty WBO Junior World World Title

  • Bruce Carrington vs. Mateus Heita – 12 rounds, WBC fleeting featherweight title

  • Emiliano Fernando Vargas vs. Alexander Espinosis – 8 rounds, younger welterweight weight

Undercard (18:00 / 23:00 BST):

  • Rohan Polanco vs. Quinton randall – 10 rounds, welterweight

  • Yan Santana vs. Aaron Alameda – 10 rounds, featherweight

  • Juanita Lopez de Jesus vs. Jorge Gonzalez-Sanchez – 4 rounds, twice beating

Last updated 25/25/2025

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Roy Jones Jr admits there is one fighter he wouldn’t want to face: ‘He’s explosive and mean’

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Roy Jones Jr admits there is one fighter he wouldn’t have wanted to face: “He’s explosive and mean”

Roy Jones Jr named another Hall of Famer whose speed would pose major problems if they ever collided in the ring.

The American had remarkable speed himself, particularly during his dominant run between middleweight and airy heavyweight, with his only defeat coming against Montell Griffin in 1997.

Even then, Jones was only disqualified for punching Griffin while he was on one knee, and eventually won the rematch via first-round stoppage later that year.

Regardless of this flaw, the pound-for-pound legend was almost untouchable throughout his prime, yet he admits that fellow icon Sugar Ray Leonard would have been a tough matchup.

While Jones was arguably most effective at 168 to 175 pounds, Leonard scored two of his most crucial victories – against Tommy Hearns and Roberto Duran – at 147 pounds.

He then moved up to middleweight and, most importantly, he won a razor-thin split decision against Marvin Haglerbefore a rematch with Hearns at the 164-pound catchweight in 1989.

At this point, Leonard had everything behind him, and yet even at middleweight, “Sugar Ray” would be considered a fierce opponent for Jones.

In a social media clip reposted by BeeBoxJones explains that Leonard’s speed and malice would cause him problems.

“I never really wanted to fight [Leonard]. I knew that [against] a swift fighter like him, the jab is your problem – you can’t [keep] punch in the face.

“If you let him move around and do what he wants [wants to] do this, he will beat you because he is very compact tempered and very mean.

Ultimately, Leonard ultimately retired following a loss to Hector Camacho in 1997, though admittedly both he and Jones were shadows of their former selves before they hung up the gloves.

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Bam Rodriguez wins the bantamweight crown with a sixth-round TKO of Antonio Vargas

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Image: Bam Rodriguez Scores Sixth-Round TKO of Antonio Vargas for Bantamweight Crown

In the main event, Rodriguez improved to 24-0 (17 KO) after a sixth-round stoppage of Vargas, who dropped to 19-2-1 (11 KO). Rodriguez secured the victory at 1:15 of the sixth round of the scheduled 12-round fight.

Vargas had the advantage in the first round, ahead of Rodriguez. Rodriguez responded well in the second round, using the move effectively before Vargas closed the scoring strongly with a quick strike slow on. Vargas continued to find success in the third and fourth rounds, often overpowering Rodriguez.

The fight took a dramatic turn in the fifth round when Rodriguez delivered an overhand left hand that knocked Vargas down early in the round. Referee Chris Flores counted and Vargas got up and continued.

In the sixth round, Rodriguez closed the show. A fierce three-punch combination sent Vargas to the canvas again, and Flores counted out Vargas, giving Rodriguez another world title to add to his growing resume.

In the co-main event, Arturo Cardenas improved his record to 18-0-2 (9 KO), defeating Jordan Martinez, who dropped to 16-1-1 (15 KO) over 10 rounds.

The first two rounds were close, with Cardenas pressing and having a slight advantage. Martinez found success in the third and fourth rounds with his counter punches and movements, rocking Cardenas with a left hand slow in the fourth round.

Cardenas responded in the fifth round, landing a right hand that caught Martinez’s attention in another close stanza. From the sixth to ninth rounds, the action remained fierce, although Cardenas seemed to gain the advantage with body attacks. In the 10th and final round, Cardenas seemed to outsmart Martinez enough to secure the decision.

The judges scored the fight 100-90, 98-92 and 97-93. Raul Caiz Jr. he was a judge.

In the lightweight division, Elias Terraza remained undefeated, improving to 14-0 (9 KO), following a second-round stoppage of Adrian Rodriguez, who dropped to 10-1 (6 KO).

Terraza effectively took advantage of his height advantage in the first round, landing a jab and landing a right hand to Rodriguez’s temple in the final minute. Early in the second round, Terraza dropped a right cross to Rodriguez. After Rodriguez took down the count, Terraza pounced on him with a sustained attack, forcing referee Chris Flores to stop the fight at the 2:30 mark.

IBF women’s lightweight champion Elif Nur Turhan defended her title with a narrow unanimous decision over Gabriela “Sosa” Tellez.

Turhan improved to 14-0 (8 KO), while Tellez dropped to 7-1 (3 KO). Despite the official verdict, the fight was fierce throughout.

Turhan boxed effectively in the early rounds, while Tellez managed to land right hands, especially slow in the opening phase. Turhan seemed to have the advantage in the middle rounds before Tellez rallied in the fifth round.

Turhan landed a solid right hand in the final seconds of the sixth round that briefly rattled Tellez. In the seventh round, Tellez responded with a left hook that drew blood from Turhan’s mouth before the champion finished the round strongly.

The ninth round was close and Turhan seemed to have beaten Tellez. During the final round, referee Richard Hoyle warned Turhan twice for pushing Tellez to the canvas. Turhan pushed tough to stop in the closing moments, landing a wild right hand as the fight came to an end.

All three judges scored the fight 96-94 in favor of Turhan.

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Trainer Robert Garcia Predicts Devin Haney vs. Shakur Stevenson Fight: ‘With a Very Slim Edge’

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Regis Prograis predicts Devin Haney vs Shakur Stevenson after facing Haney: “He’s more skilled”

Esteemed coach Robert Garcia provided his expert opinion on a potential clash between Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney, who have verbally agreed to meet at the 144-pound catchweight division.

There are rumors that both American stars will be joining Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing, apparently with the intention of clashing under the promotional banner.

While nothing has been confirmed, the pair regularly exchange information on social media, and Haney has verbally agreed to drop 3 pounds below his preferred fighting weight.

“The Dream” won the WBO welterweight title in November, becoming a three-division world champion dethroning and unanimously overtaking Brian Norman Jr.

Earlier this week, however, the WBO confirmed that Haney would be stripped of his belt if he fought Stevenson at the 144-pound catchweight division, as the 27-year-old had been ordered to face mandatory challenger Keyshawn Davis.

However, if they do end up facing off at 144 pounds, top trainer Garcia said Fighting Hub TV that he will favor the WBO super-lightweight champion the least.

“Honestly, I think it’s a great fight for both of them. They both fight very astute – they don’t handle each other [many] mistakes.

“The first one to make a mistake, the second one will take advantage of it. It’s a tough fight. With a very miniature difference, I probably think Shakur [would win]. He’s too astute.

“What I like about Haney is that he’s willing to take a risk. He’d be willing to take that risk and I think Shakur benefits from that [of his mistake]”

Stevenson became a four-division world champion when he dethroned Teofimo Lopez in January with a unanimous majority victory in his first appearance at 140 pounds.

That’s why the 28-year-old is reluctant to face Haney at 147 pounds, where his opponent would have a significant size advantage.

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