Amid the disappointment that Vergil Ortiz and Jaron Ennis will not be fighting each other on February 22, Puerto Rican starlet Xander Zayas has indicated on social media that he has accepted an offer to take on Ortiz in Saudi Arabia instead.
It is believed that Ennis, the IBF welterweight titlist, was unsure about moving up to 154 and risk losing his belt. So in comes the unbeaten Zayas, 20-0 (12 KOs).
"They gave me an hour to say yes. I said yes in one minute," Zayas wrote on X in reply to Ortiz declaring he would fight anybody. He tagged Ortiz, Top Rank, Golden Boy and Saudi paymaster Turki Alalshikh.
The highly regarded Zayas, 22 and based in Florida, is yet to step up to 12-round level but can boast consecutive victories over respected opposition.
In September 2023, in his first 10-rounder, he halted Roberto Valenzuela Jnr in five rounds before repeating that result against Jorge Fortea three months later. This year he's won two 10-round decisions, outpointing Patrick Teixeira in June before beating Damian Sosa in September.