XANDER Zayas was eager to test himself against Sebastian Fundora, so much so that the flames from within his belly had almost jumped out of his mouth.
The tenacious contender knew, either way, that he would secure a world title shot for his next outing, and yet being denied an opportunity to dethrone the champion has left an almighty itch that needs to be scratched.
Rather than facing Fundora, 22-1-1 (14 KOs), who relinquished his WBO world super-welterweight title earlier this year, Zayas, 21-0 (13 KOs), will take on number-two ranked challenger Jorge Perez Garcia for the vacant belt.
The pair are gearing up for an intriguing showdown on July 26, headlining a Top Rank bill at the Madison Square Garden Theater, New York.
At the same time, though, Zayas cannot help but feel a pang of disappointment after the chance to collide with Fundora, who will instead defend his WBC world title against Tim Tszyu this Saturday, was suddenly snatched from his grasp.
“We were negotiating, and I felt that it was a good negotiation, so it’s obviously a bit disappointing to not be fighting the champion,” the 22-year-old told Boxing News.
“But that was the route he [Fundora] decided to take, and I can’t be mad at that. Hopefully I’ll get him in the future.
“I’ve been told that he still wants the fight to happen, but if he really wanted the fight to happen, then he would’ve made it happen.
“It’s an excuse, but I get it. Maybe it was better business for him to fight Tim Tszyu, but then don’t come back to me and say that you still want to fight.”
With no desire to take his eye off the ball, Zayas has been forced to ignore Fundora, even if just for a short while, and instead direct all of his energy towards Perez.
His next opponent is, after all, coming off a mightily impressive points victory over Charles Conwell, who, during their encounter, had no answer for the Mexican’s unorthodox style.
Zayas, however, firmly believes that his skill set, especially at mid to long-range, will be too polished for Perez, a relentless but defensively limited operator.
Then, after that should be, in his mind, nothing less than a statement performance, the Puerto Rican expects to use his WBO strap as a bargaining chip, expertly designed to steer each of his 154lb rivals towards the negotiating table.
“With Jorge Garcia Perez, I feel like his one chance is to put pressure on me, and to try to fight me on the inside – like he did with Conwell,” Zayas said. “But on the outside, he doesn’t have the same boxing skills as me.
“After I become a world champion, there’ll be no more running. There’ll be no more, ‘oh, he hasn’t done that, he doesn’t bring this.’
“For me, that’s exciting, because I know that I’ll get those big fights I’ve been asking for. No more excuses. Whoever wants to become a world champion, they’ve got to fight me.”
