Xander Zayas vs Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis: Roy Jones Jr breaks it down

On June 27 at Barclays Center, Brooklyn, Xander Zayas vs Jaron Ennis will headline a Matchroom Boxing card in association with Top Rank for Zayas’ WBO/WBA super welterweight title. The main card will stream live on DAZN PPV. As we build up to this fascinating bout, legendary former four-weight world champion Roy Jones Jr spoke to Fight Hype TV, where he broke the fight down, revealing a slight favourite.

Xander Zayas vs Jaron Ennis

Zayas (23-0, 13 KOs) became a world champion, defeating Jorge Garcia Perez to win the WBO strap, before winning a split decision against Abass Baraou to put himself at the top of the division. What impresses many about Zayas is his desire to face the best. His performance against Baraou was more dominating than the scorecards tell you.

Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) will be looking to become a two-weight world champion by defeating Zayas. Boots is considered elite by many after unifying at welterweight, beating Eimantas Stanionis to add the WBA strap to his IBF crown. After this, he moved to super welterweight and stopped Uisma Lima in a round to collect the interim WBA title.

Xander Zayas vs Jaron Ennis: Roy Jones Jr weighs in

Speaking to Fight Hype TV, Jones Jr was asked if Xander can beat Boots: “It’s yet to be seen. I’m not saying he can’t. I’ve seen Xander, and Xander is pretty good. Intangible wise, I don’t know if he can do everything Boots can, because Boots does have a lot of intangibles that Boots can do. I’ve seen him do a few more because he’s been around a bit longer than Xander. 

“Xander does know how to make adjustments. With that being said, we’ll have to see what happens. I don’t know who will win the fight. The intangibles lead towards Boots for me, but Xander’s a hell of a fighter, hell of a champion. I’ve seen him up close when I had Slawa (Spomer) fight him. He made a good adjustment with Slawa, and beat Slawa, but Slawa did hurt him early. Does Boots have that kind of power…I think so. Does Boots have boxing skills…I know that for a fact. 

“I think it’s going to be just a great fight, and I can’t wait to see who wins,” said Jones Jr. 

Xander Zayas vs Jaron Ennis full fight card

• Xander Zayas vs Jaron Ennis, 12 rounds, for Zayas’ WBO/WBA super welterweight title
• Emiliano Vargas vs Bryce Mills, 10 rounds, super lightweights
• Ben Whittaker vs Richie Rivera, 10 rounds, light heavyweights
• Jahi Tucker vs Euri Cedeno, 10 rounds, middleweights
• Juanma Lopez De Jesus vs Alberto Motos, 6 rounds, super flyweights
• Quincey Williams vs Jerome Baxter, 8 rounds, welterweights
• Dennis Thompson vs Edwin Rodriguez, 8 rounds, super bantamweights

Stay with Big Fight Weekend for coverage of Xander Zayas vs Jaron Ennis, including results and video highlights, and post-fight analysis.

Featured Image Credit:

@barclayscenter