Xander Zayas lights up Quincy LaVallais for UD win

Xander Zayas fought his first 8-round fight at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden and had his way with Quincy LaVallais. 

Young Xander Zayas didn’t get the knockout against Quincy LaVallais on Saturday, March 19, but he may have had the best boxing performance of his career.

The 19-year-old originally from Puerto Rico, now living in Florida, helped pack the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. It was as close as a home fight as you can get for Zayas despite being more than 1,000 miles away from home.

The biggest drama for Zayas happened before the fight. His trainer, Javiel Centeno, had to go to the hospital before the contest due to severe back spasms and a pinched nerve.

Centeno shouted instructions to Zayas ringside sitting in a wheelchair while Zayas’s step-father coached him in the ring between rounds.

The ailments of Zayas’s trainer did nothing to throw off Zayas.

Xander Zayas remained undefeated against Quincy LaVallais in a dominant performance from the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden

Zayas (13-0, 9 KOs) fought superbly in his first 8-round contest. He looked like he could go 10 rounds without a problem.

Zayas showed quick reflexes and even quicker hands. He kept LaVallais on his backfoot all night and made the veteran LaVallais eat leather.

LaVallais (12-3-1, 7 KOs) came in against Zayas off a loss but had never been knocked out. Zayas tested LaVallais’s chin in rounds 2 and 6.

In those rounds, Zayas emptied his ammunition against LaVallais and hit him many times to the body and head. LaVallais offered little back but somehow took Zayas’s best punches without going down.

The ringside physician checked on LaVallais at the start of round 7 but allowed LaVallais to continue.

LaVallais made it to the final bell, but Zayas won the bout via unanimous decision.

Zayas couldn’t get the KO but looked incredibly sharp. He landed left hooks to the body and head, right hooks and uppercuts, and rarely got hit in return.

Zayas is a serious super welterweight prospect who is ahead of the curve at such a young age. This was a tremendous way to open up 2022 for Zayas, whose star continues to rise.