21-year-old prospect Xander Zayas emerged victorious in his first ESPN main event, outclassing former champion Patrick Teixeira over 10 rounds. Zayas (18-0, 12 KO) looked poised for an early finish, snapping Teixeira’s (34-5, 25 KO) head back with most of his shots and complementing them with heavy body blows. Teixeira, who had not weighed in below the middleweight limit in over three years, just seemed awkward and powerless.
He landed less than 10% of his power shots in the early going while eating most of what Zayas sent his way. Somehow, though, Teixeira just continued to stick around. Zayas was accurate, continued to target the body, and landed an impressive number of power shots round after round.
He just couldn’t get rid of Teixeira; he got reasonably close in the last few rounds, but every time, Teixeira threw enough shots and moved well enough to stay alive. Zayas walked away with two shutouts and a 99-91 on the cards. It was, on paper, a very strong performance.
He just seemed to be missing that extra gear, that ferocity or genuine thudding power that he’d need to standout in an increasingly hot division. Afterwards, he called out Erickson Lubin, Josh Kelly, and the recently signed Vito Mielnicki Jr. Not sure I see him getting any of those anytime soon; promoter conflicts will hold up the first two and I don’t see Top Rank cashing out on Mielnicki that quickly.
Thing of beauty #ZayasTeixeira | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/1pqaz78aiE HE'S IN TROOOOOOUBLE @XanderZayas.