Robert Garcia reacts to Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis vs Xander Zayas

On June 27, at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn, Xander Zayas vs Jaron Ennis headlined a Matchroom Boxing card in association with Top Rank for Zayas’ WBO/WBA super welterweight title. The entire main card streamed live on DAZN PPV. It was a fight that ultimately exceeded many expectations, with its action-packed approach from both fighters. Ennis ultimately won by seventh-round TKO. Vergil Ortiz’s trainer, Robert Garcia, has given his honest reaction to Boots’s performance.

Jaron Ennis vs Xander Zayas recap

Ennis quickly settled and couldn’t miss with his left hand in the first round. A well-timed left hand from Ennis (36-0, 32 KOs) knocked down Zayas (23-1, 13 KOs) in the opening round. The opening three minutes could not have gone any better for the Philly fighter.

Zayas struggled again in the second round to find any consistency, but did manage to land more. The fight exploded in the third round, with Zayas landing two big right hands that appeared to stun Ennis. “Boots” took the shots well and appeared to have his feet back under him quite quickly.

Zayas looked at his best punching between Ennis’s work instead of trading with the Philly man. “Boots” showcased his power in the fifth round, where he landed a big uppercut, knocking his Puerto Rican opponent down again. The rest of the round saw Ennis deliver a hellacious beatdown on Zayas, who showed his courage in surviving the round. The sixth round was relatively quiet, before Ennis increased the pressure in round seven, forcing another knockdown, which led the corner of Zayas to withdraw their man, crowning Jaron Ennis the new unified WBO/WBA super welterweight champion.

Robert Garcia reacts to Jaron Ennis vs Xander Zayas

Giving his reaction to Jaron Ennis’s win over Xander Zayas, Robert Garcia said:

“’Boots’ showed how solid he is, but he also showed he gets hit, and he also gets stunned, and he got hurt a little bit; he got hit a little bit too much. That’s what boxing is. That’s what makes a fight a little more exciting. I’m pretty sure a lot of people that thought ‘Boots could easily dominate Zayas, or he’ll easily dominate Ortiz,’ now they’re gonna think, ‘man, him against Ortiz is gonna be a f***ing war, a beautiful fight.’

“So, it brings more attention to the fans to push for this fight, for promoters to work together and make this fight happen because of what ‘Boots’ showed last night. Besides him also getting hit, and getting tagged, and maybe even getting stunned a couple of times, but he showed heart; he showed power. That’s one thing that the fans love.

“I think that this performance makes the bigger fights against Ortiz or other big names even more interesting.”

Featured Image Credit:

Feature Image Credit – Matchroom Boxing