Mike Coppinger and Jake Donovan both report that WBO super welterweight champion Xander Zayas and WBA titlist Abass Baraou have agreed to meet in a January 31st unification bout in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Per Donovan, the show will be announced on-site next week on the 12th.
The 23-year-old Zayas (22-0, 13 KO) pushed for this matchup almost immediately after defeating Jorge Garcia Perez for the vacant title left behind by Sebastian Fundora, reportedly turning down a softer touch in Giovanni Santillan to do so. It’s an enormously commendable show of chutzpah; Baraou (17-1, 9 KO) was the definition of high-risk, low-reward before overpowering prospect Yoenis Tellez for a belt in August and even now lacks anywhere near the notoriety of his fellow elite at 154.
We’ll let you know once we’ve got more details on the broadcast or the undercard; barring some seriously quick negotiating on Bob Arum’s part, seems like this will end up on Top Rank Classics.
