Junior middleweight contender Xander Zayas (20-0, 12 KOs) defeated Damian Sosa (25-3, 12 KOs) by a one-sided ten-round decision in a showcase fight Friday night in the co-feature at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The scores were 100-90, 100-90 and 100-90.
Zayas, 22, had his way against Sosa, hitting him with left hooks to the body, jabs and straights that had him resisting throwing. Sosa came into the fight known for having a high punch output, but he was afraid to open up to Zayas because he was often countered.
Sosa was competitive in rounds one and two, landing some good shots and making Zayas cautious about throwing. However, starting in the third, Sosa stopped fighting aggressively and was giving Zayas too much respect. If Sosa had continued to fight hard, Zayas would have been in trouble because he didn’t seem comfortable with the punches he was landing.
Sosa, 27, stepped up his offense in the ninth and tenth, landing hooks to Zayas’ head. However, he lacked the power to worry Zayas and was repeatedly nailed with counter shots.
Top Rank did a good job of picking Sosa over Zayas, who doesn’t have the biggest chin and could have problems down the road if he doesn’t improve his defense. Tonight, Zayas was excellent at blocking shots and getting out of Sosa’s punches.
For Zayas to compete with power punchers at 154, such as Vergil Ortiz Jr, Israil Madrimov, Tim Tszyu and Serhii Bohachuk, he will need to have his defense on point.
It seems that Top Rank matches Zayas in a similar way to Edgar Berlanga when they have. They aren’t taking chances by putting Zayas with fighters who could give him trouble, and it seems the focus is on building a brilliant record.
In the long run, this will not help Zayas because he will be shocked when he gets into a talented fighter with power, such as Tszyu, Madrimov, Bohachuk, or Ortiz Jr.
Sooner or later, Top Rank will need to throw Zayas to the wolves to see how he does. He won’t be turned into a fake star in the US by fighting lesser fighters. If Zayas is going to be the next Miguel Cotto or Felix Trinidad rather than the next Edgar Berlanga, Top Rank is going to start combining with the thinking opposition.
