By Jose Corpas
After a week of what seemed to be underwhelming promoting, Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Xander Zayas put on a show that gave everyone something to cheer for. Ennis is now unified, WBA and WBO, champ at junior middleweight, taking both titles from Xander Zayas last night at The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York with a seventh-round stoppage.
The fight featured some back-and-forth action with the third round being especially exciting. Ennis floored Zayas with a left in the first round, winning the round big. Zayas settled down a bit in the second, but Ennis was clearly in charge. In round three, Zayas landed big shots that snapped Ennis’ head back and had him clinching.
Round 3 of Boots Ennis vs. Xander Zayas is one of the greatest rounds of boxing you will ever watch.
An absolute war from bell to bell. Pure cinema. #ZayasEnnis pic.twitter.com/ZG5JASZb3P
— Zach Schumaker (@ZachSchumaker) June 28, 2026
The Champion’s Resilience
Then Ennis did what all great fighters do; he bounced back, dropping Zayas in the fifth and seventh round, with Zayas’s corner waving the towel from their corner and the ringside doctor in full agreement.
“They are like three dads in my corner,” Zayas later said, “their job is to protect me. If they felt I needed protecting, then that’s okay.”
JARON ENNIS JUST KNOCKED OUT XANDER ZAYAS‼️
BOOTS IS THE REAL DEAL 🥊 pic.twitter.com/HnXILxkvar
— Source of Boxing (@Sourceofboxing) June 28, 2026
Zayas did not attend the post-fight conference. “They’re taking him to the hospital for what I believe are precautionary reasons,” promoter Eddie Hearn said.
“I want all the belts,” Ennis told the press. “Doesn’t matter who.”
“How hurt were you in the third round,” he was asked.
“I was chillin’,” he replied.
Ennis improves to 36-0 with 32 knockouts, handing Zayas his first career loss in 24 fights, with 13 of his wins by knockouts.
Omg Boots with a disgusting uppercut had Zayas GONE pic.twitter.com/jjdXcIKCoo
— Underrated Tribal Chief (@CombatUTC) June 28, 2026
Under-the-Radar Performances
The undercard was filled with great performances in fights with predictable outcomes. As the legendary New York boxing matchmaker Johnny Bos would have said, “When you fight someone you are expected to beat, you better do it quick and easy.”
In the untelevised portion of the card, Juanma Lopez DeJesus, a flyweight from Caguas and son of former two-division world champion Juan Manuel Lopez, ran his record to 6-0 and 3 KOs with a first-round knockout over Alberto Motos.
Welterweight Quincy Williams improved to 6-0 with a decision over Jerome Baxter while Philly featherweight Dennis Thompson ran his record to 11-0 with a decision over Edwin Rodriguez.
The flashy light heavyweight from the UK, Ben Whittaker, moved to 12-0 (1 draw) scoring his ninth knockout with an easy second round win over veteran Richard “Popeye” Rivera. From nearby Connecticut, Rivera had only fought once in the past 20 months, was dropped twice and was too slow to do anything against the slick 29-year-old from England.
The Surgeon put on a show in the States 😎#ZayasEnnis ▪️ pic.twitter.com/EQCGSvNsxd
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) June 28, 2026
Continuing his meteoric rise through the junior welterweight ranks is Emiliano Vargas, who moves to 18-0 with 15 knockouts. The son of former champion Fernando Vargas, Emiliano dominated the game Bryce Mills with a fourth-round stoppage. The game Mills, who was still swinging – and stumbling – when referee Ricky Gonzalez called it off at 1:17 of the fourth round.
Opening the main part of the fight card was a classic crossroads match between rising middleweight, Jahi Tucker and Euri Cedeno. Tucker, now 17-1-1, won a majority decision over Cedeno, who suffered his first loss. Tucker came out smoking, throwing punches in bunches against a passive Cedeno, who dropped to 14-1-1. Cedeno came alive in round three, backing up Tucker with brutal body punches that seemed to affect Tucker. The middle rounds featured some rounds that could have gone either way. The late round saw Tucker do just enough to squeak by Cedeno, who abandoned his body attack and mostly followed Tucker around looking to land a big shot. The fight was closer than the 97-93, and 98-92 cards by two of the judges but no one was upset to see Tucker’s hand raised.
The Future Star
As for the main event, it was a fight designed to produce the next big star. And in New York, the hope was that Zayas would get a win that would place him in that line of Puerto Rican fighters who headline a big show during the early June Puerto Rican Day Parade weekend. Though Zayas is from Puerto Rico, he felt like the “hometown” hero. He was the anointed one, the one who made an appearance in the Super Bowl halftime show with Bad Bunny. He was the next Trinidad, the next Camacho.
But Boots had different plans.
“Can we have Boots every June,” I asked Eddie Hearn after the fight.
He laughed and said, “yeah.”
We can even call him “Botas.”
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