Xander Zayas ready to show his skills on the big stage of ESPN

Young boxing talent Xander Zayas is used to being featured on ESPN+, but now he gets a spotlight on ESPN. Here’s what the young gun hopes to offer viewers.

Xander Zayas gets his second boxing bout as a super welterweight on the Oct. 23 undercard of Jamel Herring vs. Shakur Stevenson. Zayas is moving through the ranks quickly, but this night will be a milestone for the 19-year-old slugger from Florida.

Zayas debuted in October 2019. He compiled a 10-0 record with 7 knockouts. The young fighter, originally from Puerto Rico, utilizes his youth with his professional boxing pacing. He totaled four matches in 2020, and his next fight against Dan Karpency will mark his fifth of 2021.

Zayas is part of Top Rank’s roster, so he’s a regular on ESPN+, but he’s about to make his primetime ESPN debut. He’s excited about the opportunity but staying focused on the task at hand.

“Big jump, big jump. Fight number 11, who would have thought that in 11 fights I was going to be on an ESPN broadcast?” Zayas told FanSided. “It’s an amazing feeling, but again, it’s part of the hard work, part of the dedication. For me, it’s just another day. Another day in the office. I have to go in there and do my job, listen to my corner, have fun, and get the victory.”

In his last contest against Jose Luis Sanchez in September, Zayas won a unanimous decision in his first fight as a super welterweight. Zayas has a solid frame at 5-foot-10, so he took a step up with the idea of gaining experience in a division that’s most likely to see him win a title.

Xander Zayas makes his ESPN debut on the Oct. 23 undercard of Jamel Herring vs. Shakur Stevenson. Main card coverage begins at 10:30 p.m. ET

“I think it was necessary to make it happen,” said Zayas. “I’m glad that I did it last fight. Not because I couldn’t make weight, but because we knew that 147 wasn’t the way that I was going to win a world championship. So making sure that we started fighting at 154, making my body realize that it’s less weight that I got to cut. It’s less stress I got to deal with. It just feels amazing.”

Zayas does feel some physical changes with the added weight.

“I feel stronger,” said Zayas.

Zayas’s decision win over Sanchez snapped his two-fight KO streak. Zayas went for the knockout early against Sanchez, but Sanchez’s chin proved durable as he lasted through the final bell. That proved to be a learning experience for Zayas.

“I went back to my house, sat down, and watched the fight multiple times with my team, by myself, with slow motion, and we fast-forwarded it,” explained Zayas. “We did all the things necessary to see what I did right and what I did wrong, and we learned a lot from it. We corrected a lot of mistakes from that fight, but overall, I gave myself a B+.”

Zayas got in valuable rounds that he feels will serve him better in the future in terms of experience.

In a conversation earlier in the year with FanSided, Zayas set the goal to be the Prospect of the Year. He feels like he’s sitting in prime position to earn that accolade.

“I believe that right now at this point in the year, if I’m not top three in that conversation for Prospect of the Year, I think I’m top three, top one, to be honest,” said Zayas. “There’s nobody that has fought as many times as I have. There’s nobody that is staying active. There’s no prospect that is getting better competition each time around, that is growing each time around.”

Zayas fights Dan Karpency next at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, GA. An impressive victory against Karpency would go a long way in securing Prospect of the Year honors.