Xander Zayas forced to pull out of June 11 fight

Junior middleweight prospect Xander Zayas is forced to pull out of his fight due to an illness.

June 11 was supposed to be when junior middleweight prospect Xander Zayas (13-0) fought in front of a large Latino crowd in New York City during the Puerto Rican Day Parade weekend. Although he was not going to be headlining the card, the event would get Zayas in front of many Puerto Rican boxing fans to solidify him as their future champion.

News broke on Wednesday that Zayas was forced to withdraw from his fight against Ravshan Hudaynazarov (19-5), which was taking place at the Hulu Theater inside the Madison Square Garden. The reason for Zayas’ withdrawal from the fight is due to a “non-COVID-19-related viral infection”. This is devastating news to the nineteen-year-old from San Juan, PR, as he posted a very emotional video after the press release was sent out.

Zayas said, “I am sorry to announce that I was forced to pull out of my fight on June 11. I have done my best to get well; however, my condition got worse over the past few days. As much as I love this sport and wanted to put on a show at Madison Square Garden for the fans, my health comes first, and my team and I had to make the difficult decision to postpone this fight. I want to thank everyone for all the support and love. I will be back soon.”

Xander Zayas has to pull out of his June 11 fight due to a non-COVID-19-related viral infection. 

This is a blow but not a huge one for Zayas as he has nothing but time to perform on the festive weekend which takes place every June. Since he has been removed from the card, a new co-feature has been announced as junior lightweight Henry Lebron (15-0) faces Luis “Popeye” Lebron (18-3-1) in an eight-rounder for the vacant WBO Latino title. The event will be televised on ESPN.