Xander Zayas nears his next fight against Damian Sosa at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York on September 27. The contest serves as the co-feature on the card headlined by Sandy Ryan vs Mikaela Mayer live on ESPN. The bout is scheduled for 10 rounds at super welterweight.
Puerto Rico’s Xander Zayas (19-0, 12 KOs) makes his second ring appearance for the year and looks to remain undefeated. The Sunrise, Florida-based 22-year-old scored a unanimous decision against Patrick Teixeira last time out in June at the same venue.
In his next fight, Zayas faces Mexican Damian Sosa (25-2, 12 KOs), who also fights for the second time in 2024 and targets his fourth straight victory. The 27-year-old competitor of Tijuana, Baja California is coming off the win by split decision against Marques Valle in his U.S. debut in Plant City, Florida in April.
“Damian Sosa is a Mexican warrior who brings that work ethic, hunger, and drive to snatch this win from me,” Xander Zayas said following a recent training session in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “He’s coming off a solid victory in his last fight against another Puerto Rican. I know he’ll come well-prepared, and that’s exactly what we want. We want the best version of Damian Sosa that night, and I think we’ll get it.”
“We are adjusting for a fighter who applies a lot of pressure and throws lots of punches. It’s all about being smart, sticking to the game plan, and listening to my corner.”
“Right now, we’re focusing more on conditioning, being at 100 percent at all times, and not losing focus at any point during the fight. We’re also working on being ready to fight on the inside when I need to and boxing on the outside when it’s time to box.”
“It’s exciting to be heading back to New York. Every time, I can feel more of the love and support from the people who want to see me in the city that never sleeps. It’s something special.”
In the main event, England’s Sandy Ryan (7-1-1, 3 KOs) defends her WBO welterweight title against former unified super featherweight champion Mikaela Mayer (19-2, 5 KOs) of Woodland Hills, California. The main card opener pits unbeaten Bruce Carrington (12-0, 8 KOs) of Brooklyn, New York against Uganda’s Sulaiman Segawa (17-4-1, 6 KOs) at featherweight.
Among the prelims, Vito Mielnicki Jr (19-1, 12 KOs) of Belleville, New Jersey and Daniel Buciuc (13-1, 5 KOs) of Romania clash at super welterweight. Plus, U.S. Olympian Tiger Johnson (13-0, 6 KOs) of Cleveland, Ohio meets Yomar Alamo (22-2-1, 13 KOs) of Puerto Rico at super lightweight.