Zayas vs. Garcia, Carrington vs. Heita, Vargas returns — Three undefeated stars aim to steal the summer spotlight on ESPN July 26

Top Rank’s summer showcase lands at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, July 26, headlined by unbeaten Puerto Rican prospect Xander Zayas going for his first world title against Mexican banger Jorge Garcia. It airs live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+ at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT / 2:00 a.m. UK.

Also on the card: Brooklyn’s Bruce Carrington squares off with Namibia’s Mateus Heita for the WBC interim featherweight title, and Emiliano Vargas opens the show in a junior welterweight clash against Ecuador’s Alexander Espinoza. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 6 via Ticketmaster.

Zayas seeks Puerto Rican throne, Garcia hunts another upset

Xander Zayas (21-0, 13 KOs) signed with Top Rank at just 16. At 22, the Puerto Rican sensation finally gets his shot at gold, fighting for the vacant WBO junior middleweight belt. Zayas steamrolled through 2024 with wins over Damian Sosa and Patrick Teixeira before flattening German puncher Slawa Spomer in February.

He now faces Jorge Garcia (33-4, 26 KOs), a Mexican underdog on a tear. Garcia derailed Charles Conwell in April and rides an eight-fight win streak with upsets from the DR to South Africa. He says he’s not here for Zayas’ coronation — he’s here to crash the party.

“This is a dream I’ve worked for my whole life,” Zayas said. “But Garcia’s hungry. I’m hungrier.”

Garcia replied: “People didn’t believe I’d beat Conwell. They’ll doubt me again — and I’ll shock them again.”

Carrington returns home, Vargas brings firepower to MSG

Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) fights in his backyard against Mateus Heita (14-0, 9 KOs) for the WBC interim featherweight strap. Carrington, ranked top-4 across all major sanctioning bodies, blasted through Vivas in March and called out every champ in the division. None responded. Heita did.

Heita, a WBO Africa champ from Namibia, is unbeaten and tough, but Carrington isn’t in the mood for diplomacy.

“The division’s full of cowards. I’ll take out Heita and keep sending warnings,” Carrington said.

The opener features Emiliano Vargas (14-0, 12 KOs), son of Fernando Vargas, in another MSG showcase. After two knockouts in two months, the 20-year-old meets Ecuador’s Alexander Espinoza (20-3-1, 9 KOs), an 11-year vet looking to stop the hype train.

Also expected on the ESPN+ undercard:

• Juanmita Lopez De Jesus (2-0, 1 KO), son of Juan Manuel Lopez, returns at junior bantamweight

• Julius ‘JuJu’ Ballo debuts against Brandan Ayala (2-0, 1 KO) at featherweight

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Event Info

• Date: Saturday, July 26, 2025

• Venue: The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

• Start Time: 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT / 2:00 a.m. UK

• Broadcaster: LIVE on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+

• Tickets: On sale June 6 at Ticketmaster.com

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Main Card (ESPN / ESPN+ / ESPN Deportes)

• Xander Zayas vs. Jorge Garcia – 12 rounds, for vacant WBO junior middleweight title

• Bruce Carrington vs. Mateus Heita – 12 rounds, for WBC interim featherweight title

• Emiliano Vargas vs. Alexander Espinoza – 8 rounds, junior welterweight

Prelims on ESPN+

• Juanmita Lopez De Jesus vs. Jorge Gonzalez-Sanchez – 4 rounds, junior bantamweight

• Julius Ballo vs. Brandan Ayala – 4 rounds, featherweight