Xander Zayas edged Abass Baraou by split decision in San Juan to unify the WBO and WBA junior middleweight belts, a nervous but controlled home win that crowned him the youngest active unified champion while exposing the thin line between polish and pressure at 154.
The cards told the story of a tense night. One judge saw it 116-112 for Baraou. Two had it 116-112 for Zayas. Close on paper.
How Zayas kept control without taking over
Zayas boxed off his feet, worked the jab, and used short combinations to keep the center. Baraou pressed, leaned forward, and tried to force exchanges. That pressure created the openings Zayas wanted. Counter rights landed. Angles reset. The pace stayed manageable.
Baraou found a stretch in the fifth with right hands that snapped Zayas’ head back and forced him to reset. Zayas did not bite. He circled, re-established the jab, and kept Baraou turning.
The ninth was the turning point. Zayas landed a clean right hand that wobbled Baraou and briefly pulled him into a phone-booth exchange. Baraou survived and dragged the fight into close quarters. Zayas adjusted again, stepped out, and went back to range work through the final rounds.
The scores reflected that balance. Enough clean work to win. Not enough separation to relax.
What Zayas and Baraou said after
Zayas did not hide the nerves when the scores were read. “When I heard the decision, I was a bit scared,” he said. “But to be honest, I felt I pulled it off. I won at least eight or nine rounds. Maybe he got three or four.”
He also revealed a mid-fight issue. “I hurt my left hand in the ninth round. I was jabbing a lot and he has a hard head, so I hurt my jab hand. But I figured it out, like all champs do. Champions find a way to win.”
Baraou took the loss straight. “Congrats to him. I’m proud of his performance,” he said. “He beat me fair and square. He deserves it. I will come back stronger.”
Titles, rankings, and the road ahead
Unifying the WBO and WBA matters at 154. It narrows mandatory lanes and raises fees. It also paints a target. The IBF and WBC routes remain open, but those organizations will not wait while voluntary business gets done.
Zayas is 23 and already carrying two belts. The market in Puerto Rico is real. Networks know it. Promoters know it. That leverage brings options and risk. A stay-busy defense at home keeps momentum. A step toward another belt raises danger fast against bigger, older junior middleweights who live on the front foot.
Technically, the questions are clear. Zayas boxes well off range and keeps composure, but when hurt hands or pressure force him inside, the margins tighten. Against heavier punchers at 154 who cut the ring with discipline, he will need earlier separation or firmer clinch control. The belts say unified champion. The performance says he is still learning how to shut doors without letting the fight slip close again.
Undercard Results
Juanmita Lopez De Jesus stayed unbeaten over six rounds, Carlos De Leon Castro forced a late stoppage, and several Puerto Rican prospects banked rounds and experience rather than noise on a busy San Juan undercard.
Juanmita Lopez De Jesus moved to 5-0 with a clear unanimous decision over Conner Goade, taking all three cards 60-53, but the fight demanded patience rather than flair. The 20-year-old southpaw worked from range early, touching with straight lefts and sneaking in right hooks to the body while Goade kept stepping forward. By the third, Juanmita settled, increased his output, and briefly had Goade close to breaking. It never came. Goade stayed upright and stubborn, forcing Juanmita to box responsibly off the back foot in the closing rounds. It was education, not dominance.
At junior lightweight, Carlos De Leon Castro improved to 7-0 with a sixth-round TKO over Diuhl Olguin. Castro took control early with straight shots and volume, then closed the show when a sustained flurry on a bloodied Olguin left the referee no choice at 1:31 of the sixth. It was steady work followed by a necessary finish against a veteran who absorbs punishment for a living.
Yadriel Caban kept his perfect record intact in the junior bantamweight ranks, stopping Jeremis Hernandez-Torres inside one round. A right hand put Hernandez-Torres down, and a left hook to the body ended things at 1:46. Short night. Clean execution.
Middleweight Euri Cedeño delivered the most one-sided scorecards of the night, earning a 100-88 sweep over Etoundi Michel William across ten rounds. Two knockdowns in the opening round decided the direction early, and William never recovered enough to change it. Cedeño stayed on task, punched in combinations, and removed doubt round by round.
At junior middleweight, Giovani Santillan made his 154-pound start with a ten-round points win over Courtney Pennington. The scores, 98-92, 97-93, and 96-94, reflected a functional outing rather than a statement. Santillan worked, stayed defensively aware, and did what was required without chasing a finish that was not there.
Across the card, the theme stayed consistent. Young fighters learning how to manage rounds, veterans proving difficult to remove, and prospects discovering that clean scorecards still count even when the knockout does not arrive.
The decision in favor of Zayas illustrates a broader problem in modern boxing scoring: the subjectivity of clean work versus forward pressure. One judge saw Baraou winning by four rounds—a glaring disparity that should raise eyebrows about standardization in judging criteria. While Zayas landed cleaner shots and exhibited tactical control, Baraou’s relentless advance arguably dictated the fight’s rhythm. If effective aggression is devalued in favor of aesthetics alone, we risk marginalizing fighters whose styles are less orthodox but equally legitimate.
Zayas’ win, while commendable, underscores the unresolved tension between technical maturity and elite-level composure under fire. Unifying belts at 23 is impressive, but let us not confuse belt accumulation with complete ring command. The ninth round exposed a critical vulnerability: when forced into exchanges under duress, Zayas survives rather than asserts. Against sharper punchers who apply pressure with calculated footwork and more power than Baraou, such survival might not suffice. If he is to hold these titles against top-tier opposition, refinement in clinch management and inside fighting will be non-negotiable. 🥊
While I respect your analysis, I think you’re underestimating the level of composure Zayas displayed. Survival is part of ring IQ—he didn’t just endure pressure; he redirected it strategically. The ninth-round wobble didn’t unravel him—it recalibrated his approach.
‘Clean work to win’ sounds like an excuse when you don’t dominate your opponent 😒. Champions should leave no doubt and this one looked like guess work from the judges.
They keep saying Zayas is learning but he got two belts now, so what’s he learning? You either a champ or you not, no excuses like hurt hand 🤷♂️.
‘Learning’ don’t mean nothing when you already fighting top guys. If you need lessons still, maybe don’t unify belts yet.
Zayas only won cause it was in Puerto Rico and the judges probably wanted him to keep those belts at home 🏠. No way he beat Baraou by four rounds.
Exactly bro! Home advantage is real and they always try to protect their fighter when it’s on their turf.
Man, Zayas didn’t really do enough to be called a champion yet. He just ran around and tapped punches, that ain’t real boxing to me 💯.
He won fair though, judges picked him for a reason. Just cause he didn’t knock the guy out doesn’t mean he ain’t a real champ.
Yeah but if you gotta run and jab all night maybe you ain’t ready for the big dogs in that weight class yet.
I don’t get why people say Zayas deserved the win so easy. That fight was way too close. If one judge had it for Baraou, that means it could have gone either way 🤔.