Puerto Rico’s Xander Zayas had perhaps the best eight-day period any boxer could ask for.
After defeating Abass Baraou in front of 12,000 of his hometown fans in San Juan on Jan. 31 to unify the WBA and WBO super welterweight titles, Zayas flew straight to San Francisco so he could rehearse with Bad Bunny for his Puerto Rico-inspired performance at Super Bowl LX’s halftime show this past Sunday.
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“Man, the day of [the Super Bowl] was a very big energy,” Zayas told Uncrowned’s “The Boys in the Back” show Tuesday, “not just from me but from everybody in the cast — all the dancers, all the models, all the actors. Even [Bad Bunny]. Everybody was just so amped up when we got there and were setting up. When we were waiting for the music to start dropping, everybody was just so anxious and ready to go, fired up. You could tell it was just an amazing atmosphere.
“Being a part of it and being able to go to a couple of events, I got to meet some great people — J Balvin, Ronald Acuña, Lady Gaga,” Zayas continued. “I was actually surprised that most of these artists and big athletes knew who I was, [they] knew my name. Obviously, J Balvin — when I come up to him, he’s like, “Oh, you’re the fighter, right?” It was insane. Ricky Martin did the same thing. Ricky Martin, when he met me, he was like, ‘Man, you’re Xander Zayas, man. That’s amazing.’ It was insane. Great experience. It was beautiful to be part of such a historic event, and I can’t wait for what the future holds.”
Zayas signed a marketing deal with Bad Bunny’s Rimas Sports this past September to help him become a star. The partnership paved the way for Zayas to appear on a halftime show watched by more than 128.2 million viewers and experience a surge in popularity.
Zayas’ relationship with Bad Bunny was a much-needed move for the 23-year-old. As the youngest unified male world champion in boxing, Zayas is clearly succeeding inside the ring. The gate receipts for his latest fight with Baraou are expected to exceed $1 million, representing the vast local support he is receiving. However, Zayas’s unification bout with Baraou struggled to garner the interest it deserved on the wider stage.
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That is because two months prior to Zayas signing with Bad Bunny, his promoter, Top Rank, lost its broadcast deal with ESPN and has yet to replace it. As a result, Zayas’ fight with Baraou was streamed on Top Rank’s FAST channels. To make matters worse, the bout was forced to compete for coverage alongside the highly-anticipated Shakur Stevenson vs. Teofimo Lopez matchup, which took place at the same time, further reducing its presence.
Zayas already has two super welterweight world titles, and now he’s setting his sights on picking up the other two. WBC titlist Sebastian Fundora already has a fight with Keith Thurman locked in for March 28, however newly-crowned IBF champion Josh Kelly dethroned Bakhram Murtazaliev just hours before Zayas’ win over Baraou, perfectly aligning the pair’s fight schedules.
“What I do know is that [Top Rank has] already made a call to Matchroom [Kelly’s promoter] and team Josh Kelly because that’s who I want to face next,” Zayas said. “That’s what I told [Top Rank] that I wanted to do. I wanted to collect a third belt. So I know they did that. We’re waiting on a response from Josh Kelly’s team, and hopefully we can make something happen for the summer.”
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“Yessir [the goal is to be undisputed]. Again, just little by little, step by step — the next step hopefully is Josh Kelly. That’s what I want. That’s what he wants because he’s also said the same thing, so we’re both on the same page. Now it’s making sure that it gets done, and then after that, seeing what’s next, and hopefully Sebastian Fundora right after I win that belt.”
“[The Kelly fight] must be in the United States — neutral ground, kind of, for both of us,” Zayas added, “me being Puerto Rican and him being from England. I don’t think it’ll take place either in England or in Puerto Rico. But here in the United States is something that we can make happen, for sure.”
Kelly, from Sunderland, is keen on a fight at his football team’s stadium, Stadium of Light. He said after his win over Murtazaliev that his main preference was to fight at his home stadium next. An initial conversation has taken place between Matchroom and the club to stage a summer blockbuster event. Kelly is also interested in a clash with fellow Brit Conor Benn, but Benn is understood to be pursuing title options at welterweight. Kelly’s promoter also represents top 154-pound contender Jaron “Boots” Ennis.
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