Xander Zayas dominated Mexico’s Jorge Garcia by unanimous decision
He turned pro at the age of 17. At 22, Puerto Rico’s chosen one became a champion.
Xander Zayas dominated Mexico’s Jorge Garcia by unanimous decision (116-112, 118-110, and 119-109) to win the WBO junior middleweight world title Saturday evening at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
Garcia (33-5, 26 KOs), fueled by his upset win over Charles Conwell in April, launched toward Zayas (22-0, 13 KOs) with wildly thrown punches. Zayas evaded most shots, soon adjusting to a game plan of quick jabs to the body and occasional right hands.
Still, Garcia managed to drag Zayas into a fight, especially in the sixth as both went toe-to-toe with hooks in the center of the ring. But by the seventh and eighth, Zayas’ counterpunching began to wear down Garcia as he easily outboxed him in the championship rounds.
Zayas said, “Boxing 101. I had to box my way to victory. I knew that if I stood in front of him that I’d be fighting his fight. So, I did everything behind the jab. The jab was the key to victory, and we showed that today.
“This is a dream come true. This is beautiful. To see my Puerto Rican fans here, this is amazing. I could never dream of anything better than this.”