Notebook: Big step for Zayas: 1st main event vs. ex-titlist Teixeira
And doing so on eve of New York's Puerto Rican Day parade; Wilder accused of domestic violence; unified champ vacating; PBC on Prime prelims set; Top Rank signs Mielnicki; Quick hits; Show and tell
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When Xander Zayas made his pro debut as a welterweight in 2019 he was just 17 years old and the youngest fighter that stalwart promoter Top Rank had ever signed its more than 50 years in the business.
Zayas, a rising star, has developed right on schedule just as everyone involved with him had hoped for, and on Saturday he will achieve a significant milestone they all envisioned for him.
Now a junior middleweight, Zayas will headline for the first time, and he is not getting any old soft touch opponent.
Zayas will take on the most formidable foe of his career in former WBO 154-pound titlist Patrick Teixeira in the 10-round main event of the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card (ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+, 11 p.m. ET) at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.
And he is not fighting on any old date either.
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Zayas, who fights out of Sunrise, Florida, is Puerto Rican and has the honor of topping the card on the eve of the annual Puerto Rican Day parade in New York, a date Top Rank first turned into a traditional fight date in the mid-2000s when it was promoting Miguel Cotto, who went on to win world titles in four divisions, become a Hall of Famer and one of the island’s all-time greats.
It remains to be seen if Zayas can get to that level of achievement but first things first and that is facing Teixeira on the all-important Puerto Rican fight date.
“This is something we've worked towards doing,” Zayas said this week. “I want to give thanks to Top Rank, ESPN, and MSG for giving me this opportunity. Man, I’m 21 years old, and I’m headlining at MSG. It’s something I always dreamed of. I worked hard for it. And now it's happening.”
The bout was originally ticketed for Feb. 16 at The Theater in the co-feature of WBC junior lightweight titlist O’Shaquie Foster’s split decision win over Abraham Nova. However, Zayas (18-0, 12 KOs) withdrew, electing to take time off to rest and let minor nagging injuries heal, according to Top Rank.
Teixeira didn’t sit around waiting for him. He fought at home in Brazil and stopped Edisson Saltarin in the fourth round, risking the rescheduled date.
Teixeira (34-4, 25 KOs), 33, a southpaw, has won three fights in row since he dropped three fights in a row in 2021 and 2022. He lost his world title by decision to Brian Castano; then took a second-round disqualification against Paul Valenzuela for a rabbit punch that left him unable to continue; and traveled to Russia and lost a decision to then-unbeaten Magomed Kurbanov.
In the bout prior to losing to Castano, he outpointed Carlos Adames for the vacant title and Adames now holds the WBC middleweight title.
“On paper, this is the biggest test of my career,” Zayas said. “I have to pass it with flying colors. I know that. The team knows that. We’re focused on winning Saturday night and then focusing on everything else.
“Somebody is going to have to back down in this fight and I don’t believe that will be me. I’m ready to go 10 rounds if necessary. I’m willing to go through everything I have to go through to get the victory.”
Teixeira is the underdog but took the fight hoping a win would quickly get him back to a world title path.
“A win in this fight can get me back to where I want to be, headlining in big fights,” he said.
In the co-feature, Brooklyn, New York, featherweight prospect Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (11-0, 7 KOs), 27, a 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials champion, will face replacement opponent Brayan De Gracia (29-3-1, 25 KOs), 30, of Panama, in a 10-rounder. He was on standby and pressed into service when Mexico’s Jose Enrique Vivas was unable to obtain his visa in time.
Wilder accused of domestic violence
Telli Swift, who has been engaged to Deontay Wilder since 2018 and is the mother of one of his daughters, was granted a temporary restraining order against the former longtime WBC heavyweight titleholder after she accused him of abusing her over the past six years, according to TMZ.
According the report, Swift sought the TRO in a Los Angeles court last week and it was granted on Monday.
Two days earlier Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs), 38, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, seemingly saw his career come to an end, at least in terms of being a marquee fighter, when Zhilei Zhang knocked him out in the fifth round in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in the main event of the “5 vs. 5” card. Wilder suffered his fourth loss in his last five fights, three of which were by knockout.
In Swift’s application for the TRO, she accused Wilder of several incidents of abuse. She said he choked her “at least five times” since 2018, accused him of spitting on her several times and claimed he once shoved her face in a pillow for so long she “nearly suffocated,” TMZ reported.
TMZ also reported that she alleged that in April Wilder used her laptop without her consent and sent out disturbing messages to her personal and professional contacts; that he constantly ridiculed her; threatened to destroy her belongings; and expected her to have sexual intercourse with him “three times a day.”
On April 15, Swift’s application also said Wilder had her thrown out of their Atlanta residence even though she had recently had what was termed “invasive surgery.”
Swift said that she and their 6-year-old daughter have been living at their Los Angeles-area home since and claimed Wilder has been using the house’s surveillance system to spy on her and that she was worried Wilder could get violent when he returned from Saudi Arabia.
“I believe Deontay is capable of being physically violent towards me upon his return in June because he has expressed that he is furious with me since April and has been physically abusive with me in the past,” TMZ quoted her as saying in the application.
Wilder is required to remain at least 100 yards away from Swift and their daughter until at least June 25, when they are supposed to appear before a judge.
Wilder, who made 10 title successful title defenses during his 2015 to 2020 reign, has yet to make any public comments on Swift’s allegations or on his loss to Zhang.
Teraji moving up
Unified junior flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji is moving up to flyweight and vacating his 108-pound belts.
Teraji has vacated the WBA title, according to WBA president Gilberto Mendoza, and is expected to do the same with the WBC title.
Teraji (23-1, 14 KOs), 32, of Japan, likely will next challenge for the vacant WBC flyweight title, which Julio Cesar Martinez relinquished two weeks ago to move up to junior bantamweight.
Teraji had two title reigns at 108 pounds. He won the WBC belt by majority decision against Ganigan Lopez in 2017 and made eight defenses, including a second-round knockout of Lopez in a rematch, before Masamichi Yabuki stopped him in the 10th round to take the title in 2021.
Teraji regained the belt in an immediate rematch, knocking Yabuki out in the third round in March 2022. That set up a unification fight with unbeaten WBA titlist Hiroto Kyoguchi in November 2022 and Teraji stunningly dominated en route to a seventh-round knockout.
Since then, Teraji has made three defenses, most recently by majority decision over Carlos Canizales in January.
According to Mendoza, the WBA will order Canizales (26-2-1, 19 KOs), 31, of Venezuela, a former WBA “regular” junior flyweight titlist, to face former WBA “regular” strawweight titlist Erick Rosa (7-0, 2 KOs), 24, a southpaw from the Dominican Republic, for the vacant belt.
Davis-Martin PBC prelims
Premier Boxing Champions on Friday announced a trio of 10-round fights that will stream for free via Prime Video on June 15 (5:30 p.m. ET) from the MGM Grand Garden Arena ahead of the start of the Gervonta Davis-Frank Martin pay-per-view event at 8 p.m. ET (Prime Video PPV, PPV.com).
In the main prelim bout, Glendale, Arizona, middleweight Elijah Garcia (16-0, 13 KOs), 21, one of boxing’s best prospects, and Kyrone Davis (18-3-1, 6 KOs), 29, of Wilmington, Delaware, will meet in a originally scheduled for March 30 but postponed because Garcia became ill a few days before the fight.
“Fighting on these major events is an incredible blessing and I plan on delivering another great performance,” Garcia said. “Kyrone Davis has been in the ring with some very good fighters, and it will be a challenging fight, but my plan is to get the win by any means necessary. I’m really happy we were able to reschedule the fight.”
In the middle bout, former featherweight titlist Mark Magsayo (25-2, 17 KOs), 28, of the Philippines, will have his second fight since moving up to junior lightweight against Eduardo Ramirez (28-3-3, 13 KOs), 31, a Mexican southpaw.
“I want to show everybody that I feel strong at 130 pounds and that I’m ready to become a two-division world champion,” Magsayo said. “Eduardo Ramirez is a tough fighter and we’re going to give the fans an action packed fight, just like always.”
In the opener, welterweight Roiman Villa (26-2, 24 KOs), 31, of Venezuela, will take on Ricardo Salas Rodriguez (17-2-2, 12 KOs), 25, of Mexico. Villa will look to bounce back from a 10th-round knockout loss challenging then-IBF interim titlist Jaron “Boots” Ennis last July.
Top Rank signs Mielnicki
Junior middleweight Vito Mielnicki Jr. has signed a long-term promotional contract with Top Rank, the company announced at a press conference on Thursday at Madison Square Garden in New York, that was mainly to promote its Saturday night ESPN card at The Theater headlined by junior middleweight Xander Zayas against former titlist Patrick Teixeira.
Mielnicki (18-1, 12 KOs), 22, of Roseland, New Jersey, will make his Top Rank debut in August.
“Vito is an extraordinarily talented and personable young man who has been on our radar since his amateur days,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said. “We are thrilled he’s decided to sign with Top Rank and believe he has all the tools to become a world champion.”
Mielnicki was only 17 when he made his pro debut on a Top Rank card in 2019, although he was not signed to the company. He was with Premier Boxing Champions for most of his career and had his last fight on the Canelo Alvarez-Jaime Munguia card PBC put on May 4 in Las Vegas.
With PBC, Mielnicki received major hype and fought on some of its biggest cards, including Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder II.
He has won 10 fights in a row since an upset eight-round majority decision loss in 2021.
“I’m beyond blessed and grateful to sign with Top Rank, one of the greatest promotional companies ever,” Mielnicki said. “This is the start of a new chapter of my story. I’m excited to continue to grow and blossom as a fighter. I’m looking forward to staying active and continuing to build on the foundation I’ve created in the beginning years of my career.”
BetUS Boxing Show
If you missed the BetUS Boxing Show live at 1 p.m. ET on Friday on YouTube, please check out the replay (and also subscribe to the YouTube channel). We previewed the top two fights on Saturday’s Top Rank ESPN card: rising junior middleweight Xander Zayas stepping up to face former titlist Patrick Teixeira and featherweight prospect Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington against Brayan De Gracia. We also took viewer questions and comments and discussed the latest boxing news! Please check out the show here:
Quick hits
Weights from Hollywood, Florida, for the Don King card Friday on TrillerTV PPV (6 p.m. ET): Adrien Broner 146 pounds, Blair Cobbs 145.6; Ian Green 158.2, Roy Barringer 157.8; Cassius Chaney 262.8, Michael Hunter 220.6; Antonio Perez 134, Antonio Williams 135; De’von Williams 143.6, Travis Floyd 141.8; Yoenlis Hernandez 158.8, Alejandro Barrera 159.8; Yuniel Dorticos 199.8, Alan Campa 198.8; Christian Thun 275, Onoriode Ehwareme 226.8; Alexander Hernandez 157.8, Ariel Vasquez 158.6; Yosdiel Napoles 134.8, Wister Garcia 133.4; Kallia Kourouni 131.4, Edith Soledad Matthysse 128.8; Montaser Aboughaly 148.4, Dakota Highpine 147.4.
Weights from New York for Top Rank’s ESPN show on Saturday (11 p.m. ET): Xander Zayas 153.4 pounds. Patrick Teixeira 153.4; Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington 125.4, Brayan De Gracia 125; Tiger Johnson 141.2, Tarik Zaina 142.6; Andy Dominguez 111.8, Cristopher Rios 111.8; Jahi Tucker 160.2, Quincy LaVallais 161.4; Ofacio Falcon 129.8, Antonio Dunton El Jr. 130.4; Ali Feliz 220, Lemir Isom-Riley 253.6; Nisa Rodriguez 160.6, Jordanne Garcia 165.2.
Weights from Verona, New York, for the Golden Boy card Friday on DAZN (8 p.m. ET): Oscar Collazo 104.7 pounds, Geraldo Zapata 104.2 (for Collazo’s WBO strawweight title); Eric Tudor 146.2, Roddricus Livsey 147; Mykquan Williams 139.1, Willmank Brito 140.3; David Stevens 168.3, Sergio Lopez 167.2; Yair Gallardo 174.2, Michael Ruiz 174; Bryce Mills 141.6, Jose Marruffo 141.6; Sasha Tudor 152.5, Manuel Moreira 150.
Show and tell
The late Hall of Fame two-division titleholder Arturo Gatti — my all-time favorite fighter — and Micky Ward had already waged two memorable fights. Ward won a majority decision in their first iconic junior welterweight battle that ranks as one of the most exciting and dramatic fights of all time and was the consensus 2002 fight of the year. They met again in a rematch six months later and Gatti evened the series with a competitive unanimous decision in another terrific fight even if it was not as wildly entertaining as the first one. Tied 1-1, it meant a third straight fight and they delivered yet another all-time classic battle. Although Ward dropped Gatti in the sixth round as they slugged it out toe to toe for most of the fight, Gatti got the better of the action and defeated Ward, who had become his close friend during their trilogy and went into the bout proclaiming it would be his last fight. He indeed retired following their tremendous slugfest, which Gatti won 97-92, 96-93 and 96-93 in the 2003 consensus fight of the year. It was a privilege to cover their second and third fights at ringside, both at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The third fight took place on June 7, 2003 — 21 years ago on Friday. Here is an extremely rare glossy cardboard site poster that was displayed at Bally’s Atlantic City during fight week in my collection.
More show and tell
Miguel Cotto had won world titles at junior welterweight, welterweight and junior middleweight when he moved up to middleweight in an effort to become the first Puerto Rican male boxer to win world titles in four divisions. He challenged middleweight champion Sergio Martinez and packed New York’s Madison Square Garden with 21,000 strong — I was ringside to cover it — on the eve of the annual Puerto Rican Day parade in New York, a date that had become Cotto’s.
Cotto took charge right away and scored three knockdowns in the first round against Martinez, who was compromised by a bum right knee on which he had had two surgeries. Cotto toyed with Martinez and dropped him again in the ninth round. Cotto was ahead 90-77 on all three scorecards when Pablo Sarmiento, Martinez’s trainer, stopped the HBO PPV fight with Martinez on his stool six seconds into the 10th round. Cotto improved to 8-1 at the Garden and made history by winning the middleweight championship and sending Martinez into a six-year retirement before he returned in 2020. The fight was on June 7, 2014 — 10 years ago on Friday. Here is a poster from the fight in my collection.
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Photos: Zayas-Teixeira: Mikey Williams/Top Rank; Wilder and Swift: TMZ via Getty; Teraji: Naoki Fukuda; Collazo-Zapata: Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy
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