Instagram<\/a>. \u201cA perfect example is Xander Zayas.<\/p>\nOscar\u2019s Plea to Zayas<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a perfect fight for you on a silver platter. Pay-per-view, let\u2019s do it in Las Vegas at the MGM, and you keep saying you want to go to Puerto Rico? How? Your promoter [Top Rank] has no TV whatsoever. Where are you going to fight? OnlyFans?\u201d said De La Hoya.<\/p>\n
It would be a shock if Top Rank were to make this fight for Zayas, 22, because they\u2019ve been slowly grooming him, trying to turn him into an East Coast star with their matchmaking.<\/p>\n
His last fight against Jorge Garcia Perez for the vacant WBO junior middleweight title showed that he\u2019s not capable of fighting in the pocket. Xander\u2019s style is identical to Devin Haney\u2019s, but with a lot of holding involved.<\/p>\n
Zayas would be overmatched against Vergil Ortiz Jr, just as he would if he fought Bakhram Murtazaliev, Israil Madrimov, Jaron Ennis, Sebastian Fundora, Yoenis Tellez, Serhii Bohachuk, or Erickson Lubin.<\/p>\n
Why Top Rank Won\u2019t Risk Zayas<\/p>\n
If Top Rank is going to throw the 22-year-old Xander in a fight he can\u2019t win, it\u2019ll only be one that they can get a massive return on their investment. Vergil Ortiz Jr. isn\u2019t nearly a big enough fight for that to happen, unless Turki Alalshikh were to be involved. Why would he, though? It\u2019s not a big enough fight because Zayas isn\u2019t popular and has that ugly Haney-esque fighting style.<\/p>\n
\u201cDude, we have DAZN. We have the PPV. We have the date. You and Vergil, Mexico vs. Puerto Rico. It\u2019s huge. What are you waiting for? Let\u2019s do this,\u201d said De La Hoya, continuing to try to lure Xander into a fight with Ortiz Jr.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s useless, Oscar. Zayas is going to fight whoever Top Rank chooses for him in his first defense of his WBO 154-lb title in December. That person is already rumored to be welterweight Giovani Santillan. He has a record that looks good at first glance at 34-1, but he\u2019s harmless. Xander will easily get past him in his homecoming for his defense at the end of the year in Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis era right here, I can\u2019t wait for it to finish. Only the fighters that don\u2019t want to fight and are literally p*****, man. They want to do it for extra millions and this and that. No. Let\u2019s be real here. pay-per-view, DAZN, Vergil Ortiz-Xander Zayas, let\u2019s do it in Las Vegas. What are you waiting for?\u201d said De La Hoya.<\/p>\n
De La Hoya Targets Wrong Droid<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a lost cause for De La Hoya. He\u2019s going after the wrong droid. What he needs is to target more attainable opponents for Vergil Jr. to defend his WBC 154-lb interim title against. These are more realistic options for Ortiz Jr.<\/p>\n
Serhii Bohachuk
\nErickson Lubin
\nJesus Ramos Jr.
\nIsrail Madrimov
\nJaron Ennis
\nBakhram Murtazaliev<\/p>\n
Boxing News 24<\/a> \u00bb Oscar De La Hoya\u2019s Message to Xander Zayas: DAZN, PPV, Las Vegas and Vergil Ortiz Jr. are Waiting<\/p>\nLast Updated on 08\/17\/2025 \t<\/p>\n