Jaron Ennis and Xander Zayas appear to confirm the news all fans want to hear

Kerr Ferguson

Jaron Ennis and Xander Zayas appear to confirm the news all fans want to hear
Image credit: Top Rank / Getty

Jaron Ennis and Xander Zayas appear to have quietly announced that their fight is now a done deal.

‘Boots’ Ennis unified titles at 147lbs before stepping up in weight, where he made an immediate statement with a stoppage win over Uisma Lima in October last year. He had been targeting a fight with Vergil Ortiz Jr, but issues between Ortiz and his promoter, Golden Boy, saw those plans fall apart.

Enter Zayas, boxing’s youngest male unified world champion at 23. The Puerto Rican claimed the WBO super-welterweight belt with victory over Jorge Garcia Perez in July last year, and added the WBA strap by beating Abass Baraou in January.

Both promotional teams – Matchroom for Ennis, Top Rank for Zayas – had made it clear recently that talks were moving along nicely, with June 27 in New York targeted. Top Rank’s recent broadcast partnership with DAZN has helped push discussions forward behind the scenes, and both fighters have now taken to social media with extremely positive updates.

First, Zayas said, “signed, sealed and delivered. We got a fight.”

That was followed by Ennis’ post, who looks forward to becoming a “two-weight undisputed champion.”

With both fighters now publicly signalling that an agreement has been reached, attention will quickly turn to official confirmation in the coming days.

If indeed finalised, the clash represents one of the most significant fights in the super-welterweight division this year, pitting one of the sport’s most complete operators against one of its youngest champions. For Ennis, it is a chance to cement his status at a new weight, while for Zayas, it marks a defining step up, despite entering the ring as the champion.

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