Xander Zayas understands that a title shot is more than a win away

Xander Zayas may be closer to fulfilling his world title dream, but the junior middleweight believes there’s more to be done before he achieves that goal.

Puerto Rico’s Zayas, 21, is billed to fight Damian Sosa of Mexico in a 10-round contest at 154 on the undercard of the WBO welterweight championship headliner between titleholder Sandy Ryan and Mikaela Mayer at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York on Sept. 27.

Ahead of facing Sosa (25-2, 12 KOs), Zayas admitted that it would take more than beating his Mexican opponent to land a title shot.

“I feel like, of course, I do the service job, but for some of these guys, it’s like, high bridge, low reward,” Zayas told BoxingScene. “So, I know it’s gonna take a lot more than just beating Damon Sosa. I gotta fight some other guys to make that happen. But, yes, I feel like I’m ready. I feel like I deserve that shot. I’m a name that a lot of people like watching.

“So, I do deserve the shot, but I know some of these guys are not gonna want to fight me right now.”

Zayas (19-0, 12 KOs) remains one the best fighters at 154 since turning pro in 2019 at age 16. The Puerto Rican, who fights out of Sunrise, Florida, is undefeated in 19 fights and is ranked highly by WBO, WBC and IBF. On Sept. 27, Zayas would be presented with an opportunity to inch closer to a 154-pound title – a chance he wants to grab with everything in him.

“If I want me to be honest, a knockout, obviously, but it doesn’t matter how it comes. I’m ready to go 10 rounds if I have to. I’m ready to make him pay every time, break him down little by little. If the opportunity is there, I am gonna take it. 

“If I do everything perfectly, I should stop him in round eight or nine. I should be breaking him down and would get him out by then. I’m gonna get him out of there. But if not, I’m willing to box him and now hustle him for 10 rounds.”

Zayas described his training camp as great and is hoping to have 10 weeks of preparation for the Sosa fight. Obviously, Zayas knows the magnitude of the fight ahead and is ready to make his opponent pay for his mistakes.

“Well, Damian Sosa is a fighter that’s gonna come forward. He’s gonna put a lot of aggression, throw a lot of punches, and try to turn it up, from I wouldn’t say the get go, but from the middle round. He’s gonna try to find a main lay inside. So, as long as I can make him feel uncomfortable every time he comes in, every time I’m in the bay, my distance, make him miss, make him pay, being positioned, I feel like it’s gonna be an easy night for me.

Sosa has gone 14-1 in his last 15 fights. The dangerous Mexican’s only defeat in recent times came in a 10-round unanimous decision loss to Ivan Alvarez in March last year. When asked how well he knows Sosa, Zayas said, “I have watched his fights. Again, he’s a fighter that has a lot of heart, a fighter that has a lot of hunger to win and to be great in boxing, and somebody that is just not gonna stop throwing. I feel like he’s a machine. He’s gonna come. He’s gonna bring a fight.”

Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at bernardneequaye@gmail.com.