Xander Zayas picks holes in Jaron Ennis record, accuses him of 'hiding in Philly'

Unified WBO and WBA world junior middleweight champion Xander Zayas of Puerto Rico says that despite the fact his opponent this weekend, Jaron “Boots” Ennis, is a former world champion gunning for titles in a second weight class, Philadelphia’s Ennis has ducked big fights repeatedly and his record has a lot of “padding.”

Zayas, 23-0 (13 KOs), will defend his two belts against Ennis, 35-0 (31 KOs), in the main event this Saturday, June 27, live on DAZN PPV from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. 

Speaking on the Ariel Helwani show, Zayas said of Ennis: “it took him 35 fights to become unified. It took me 23. If you see his first 23 fights, he was fighting guys that were trying to pay child support. I was fighting guys trying to win; trying to get me away from my goals and what I wanted to accomplish… I'm his biggest challenge. He's 28. At 23, what was he doing? Hiding in Philly, not wanting to fight the big fights.

“I believe so,” said Zayas when asked if Ennis’ record is padded. “I only count his last 10 to 11 fights that I can tell you these guys are decent with decent records and good experience.”

"I think I could bully him. I think I will bully him, but that's the way we're supposed to think as fighters, you know? I think I’m better than him and I feel like he thinks he's better than me. And there's only one way to find out Saturday night.”

Zayas says he’s expecting a special night of old-school boxing with a classic atmosphere Saturday.

“Philly fans, you know, they're boisterous. They're loud. But with the Puerto Rican New Yorkers here, it's gonna be crazy. I feel like everybody's so afraid to put their (undefeated) record on the line, or to put their belts on the line. If I want to consider myself the best in the sport, I’ve got to fight the best. I gotta beat the best and to do that is the way to do it.

“I'm ready to go 12 rounds if I need to. I'm ready to take advantage of the opportunities. I already envision all the opportunities I can take advantage of and I visualize them. And I see them every night as I go to sleep, every mistake that I can do; every good thing that I can do. I try to see everything. I try to, you know, play everything out in my head. And sometimes I wake up drenched in sweat because I was literally in the fight in my sleep.”