Puerto Rican junior middleweight Sandor Zayas has his sights set on a top-five opponent. after a unanimous decision over Damian Sosa on Friday at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Zayas, 22, won all 10 rounds on the referee’s scorecard against Sosa. Each referee scores the fight 100-90.
After the fight, Zayas (20-0, 12 KO) expressed his desire to compete higher in the rankings: “Whoever is in the top five,” he said.
Zayas is ranked No. 3 by the WBO, No. 6 by the WBC and No. 7 by the IBF. Potential opponents include Charles Conwell, Israel Madrimov, Jesus Ram. Os Jr., Serhi Bohachuk and Eriksson Lubin Vito Mielnicki Jr., who is ranked in the WBA’s top five, fights on the same card and has discussed facing Zayas.
Zayas acknowledged Sosa (25-3, 12 KO), who recently gave unbeaten Marques Valle his first loss, to help him upgrade.
“I told him he pushed me and raised me to the next level,” Zayas said. “Now I feel like I’m ready. In the past I thought it was like that. But tonight I showed everyone that I am ready for the high title.”
Zayas has fought twice so far in 2024, winning both fights by unanimous decision. earlier this year He defeated former world champion Patrick Teixeira. Zayas is known for his knockout power. He was able to punch far in a row for the second time in his career. He neutralized Sosa’s normally high output by limiting him to fewer punches.
“They say he usually fights 84 per round, but tonight I did my job,” Zayas said. “Now I’m going to relax and see what happens next.”
Lucas Ketelle is a proud member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and author of “Inside The Ropes of Boxing” (available on Amazon). Contact him on X @LukieBoxing.
