MillCity Boxing<\/a> about it not being a good idea for Top Rank to allow their fighter, Xander Zayas, to face Jaron Ennis.<\/p>\nEnnis vs. Zayas Would Be a Massacre<\/p>\n
On paper, it would be a massacre for Xander to fight \u2018Boots\u2019 now or anytime in the future. They\u2019re two different types of fighters. Talent-wise, Zayas is like a fringe contender that has been maneuvered into capturing the vacant WBO 154-lb belt. He\u2019s a champion in name only.<\/p>\n
A Manufactured Champion?<\/p>\n
If he had to fight someone like Ennis or any of the belt-holders or top contenders, he\u2019d likely be in over his head. I view Xander as a classic example of creation for marketing purposes. He\u2019ll be okay as long as he doesn\u2019t fight anyone with ability.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t put a young kid in a fight like that against a guy that good. Top Rank has the best matchmakers in the business. They\u2019ve been around too long not to know that \u2018Boots\u2019 is a level above Zayas. They\u2019re not stupid,\u201d said Stephen.<\/p>\n
Turki Money Could Change Everything<\/p>\n
It\u2019s doubtful that Top Rank would ever make a fight between Zayas and \u2018Boots\u2019 Ennis without Turki Alalshikh getting involved to offer crazy money like we saw with the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford fight last month on September 11th.<\/p>\n
Top Rank wants to build Xander into a star on the East Coast and turn him into a money-maker. To do that, they have to keep him away from fighters like Ennis, Fundora, Abass Baraou, Vergil Ortiz Jr., Bakhram Murtazaliev, and Erickson Lubin. Zayas would likely lose to all of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cBakhram would be the toughest fight in terms of danger. He\u2019s the biggest hitter and has the most one-shot power out of the four champions, nd he has the good counter-punching,\u201d said Edwards about his belief that Bakhram Murtazaliev would be a formidable foe for Ennis.<\/p>\n
Promoter Eddie Hearn didn\u2019t sound like he wanted IBF junior middleweight champion Murtazaliev next for Ennis following his first-round knockout win over Uisma Lima last Saturday. Hearn was talking about wanting WBC interim champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. in early 2026. If not him, Sebastian Fundora.<\/p>\n
By Sean Jones \u2014 Senior Boxing Writer, Covering the Sport Since 2016.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sean Jones has been grinding in boxing media since 2008 and joined Boxing News 24 in 2011. UK-based but reporting worldwide, he digs into the fights that matter \u2014 from champions to hungry prospects.<\/p>\n
Known for his no-nonsense takes and ringside presence, Sean gives fans the raw view, not the polished press release.<\/p>\n
Boxing News 24<\/a> \u00bb Stephen Edwards Says Top Rank Would Never Risk Xander Zayas Against Jaron \u2018Boots\u2019 Ennis<\/p>\nLast Updated on 10\/16\/2025 \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Trainer Stephen Edwards doesn\u2019t believe Top Rank will risk their fighter Xander Zayas to defend his WBO junior…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":206474,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-206473","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-boxing","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}