Xander Zayas Defeats Patrick Teixeira by Unanimous Decision

Xander Zayas is proving he’s a contender…

The 21-year-old Puerto Rican professional boxer, touted as a contender since he was a teenager, dominated Patrick Teixeira in a unanimous decision victory on Saturday night in New York City to remain undefeated as a junior middleweight prospect.

Zayas (19-0, 12 KOs) also helped establish his boxing future in a different way at Hulu Theater inside Madison Square Garden. The native of San Juan was fighting on the weekend of the Puerto Rico Day Parade, a tradition for fighters from the island to be stars of the show at the Garden. Miguel Cotto and Felix Trinidad are among those who’ve made this tradition memorable.

Zayas, who signed with Top Rank when he was 16 and made his pro debut six weeks after his 17th birthday, marched forward from the start with attacks to the body.

He landed 10 body punches in the second round and another nine in the third, while Teixeira managed just three during those six minutes. That put Zayas in full control, and by the end of the fight, he had landed 76 body punches to 12 for Teixeira.

Zayas’ overall advantage in punches landed was 204-63, and he was threatening from start to finish.

But Teixeira (34-5, 25 KOs), who held the WBO junior middleweight world championship in 2021, stood tough and made it to the final bell.

Zayas moved his attack upstairs in Round 8 and snapped Teixeira’s head back several times with hooks and uppercuts. By the end of the ninth, the face of the 33-year-old Brazilian was bloody, and he was in survival mode, moving away from Zayas and throwing little offense back at the young fighter. Teixeira’s movement and toughness enabled him to make it to the end.

Two of the three judges scored every round for Zayas, while the third gave Teixeira one round.

“Thank you to the people of Puerto Rico,” Zayas said afterward. “Since I’m 5 years old, I’ve been dreaming about this.”

Xander Zayas Defeats Jorge Fortea to Set Up Bout Against Patrick Teixeira

Xander Zayas’ impressive ring performance helps set up his next fight…

The 21-year-old Puerto Rican boxer took only five rounds to dispatch 14-year veteran Jorge Fortea in front of an adoring crowd on Saturday at Dodge City Center near Miami.

Xander ZayasAlthough it probably felt a lot longer to Fortea.

Zayas (18-0, 12 KOs) earned a knockout stoppage at 1:37 of the fifth round after a crushing left hook to Fortea’s body. The body shot brought a merciful end to the junior middleweight bout, which Zayas dominated from start to finish with vicious body combinations and power shots along the ropes. He landed 27 total body shots on Fortea, two of which forced Fortea to take a knee, once in the first and again in the fifth.

The impressive showcase by Zayas sets up a bout on February 16 against Patrick Teixeira, the No. 2-ranked junior middleweight by the WBO.

“We knew he liked to keep his elbows out,” Zayas said of Fortea. “It was just a matter of time since we got him in the first round. After that, he kind of went into survival mode. February 16, [Madison Square Garden], Patrick Teixeira, you’re next!”

In total, Zayas landed 285 punches to 144 for Fortea. Both of Fortea’s eyes were badly swollen by the third. It was the Spanish fighter’s first loss since he suffered a knockout against Anthony Fowler in March 2021.

Patrick Teixeira Wins Hard-Fought Bout Against Carlos Adames to Earn Vacant Interim World Title

Patrick Teixeirais officially a world titleholder…

Despite a bloodied face, the 28-year-old Brazilian professional boxer and junior middleweight won a hard-fought unanimous decision over Carlos Adames to win a vacant interim world title on Saturday night at The Chelseaat The Cosmopolitanof Las Vegas.

Patrick Teixeira

The judges scored the fight 116-111, 114-113 and 114-113 for Teixeira, who earned the winning margin on two scorecards on the strength of a knockdown in the final moments of the seventh round.

“It was tough with the cuts, but I was able to get through it because of my experience,” Teixeira said. “It was a little harder, but my corner did an excellent job on the cuts. I am very happy to bring a world title back to Brazil. I want to make boxing bigger in Brazil. Soccer is our biggest sport, and this is a great moment for boxing in my country.”

Patrick Teixeira

It was an action-packed battle that began as a boxing match as Teixeira, a southpaw, gave Adames trouble with his movement and jab in the early going. But the aggressive Adames got into the fight in the third round when he found a home for his body shots. He also landed stiff, straight right hands and looked like he would be able to overpower Teixeira.

The Robert Garcia-trained Adames (18-1, 14 KOs), 25, of the Dominican Republic, opened a cut under Teixeira’s swelling left eye in the fourth round and continued to force him back with heavy shots. He opened a cut under his right eye in the fifth round even though Teixeira rebounded in the round to land combinations that had Adames a little shaky.

The seventh round was a wild one. Adames was pounding Teixeira and landed three tremendous uppercuts that rocked his head back. It looked like he might stop Teixeira at any moment when the Golden Boy-promoted Teixeira (31-1, 22 KOs) suddenly rebounded to connect with multiple rights hooks and then a left hand to the chin that dropped Adames to his rear end along the ropes in the final seconds of the round. It was the first time Adames had been knocked down, and it ultimately cost him the fight.

They continued to battle on seemingly even terms, with Adames the heavier hitter but Teixeira’s movement and punches from unusual angles giving Adames problems.

“We are so proud of Patrick Teixeira,” Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoyasaid. “It was a brutal and bloody war, but Teixeira really dug deep to earn himself the most important win of his career against a very dangerous fighter. We look forward to starting the new year with yet another champion in our stable.”

Teixeira won his fifth fight in a row since his only defeat, a second-round knockout to former world title challenger Curtis Stevensin May 2016.

The fight was initially slated to be a title eliminator for the right to become the mandatory challenger for 154-pound world titleholder Jaime Munguia, but on Tuesday, the WBO sanctioned the bout for its interim belt because Munguia announced his next fight would be at middleweight. Munguia likely will vacate the junior middleweight belt, and Teixeira is expected to be upgraded to the full titleholder during next week’s annual WBO convention in Tokyo.