Xander Zayas soaked in the ambiance as he stared into the crowd at a familiar site.
The unbeaten junior middleweight saluted his supporters as he made weight for his first major title fight. Zayas was right at the 154lbs divisional limit, while Jorge Garcia weighed 153lbs.
Their vacant WBO 154lbs title fight will headline an ESPN tripleheader (Saturday, 9:00 p.m. ET/Sunday 2:00 a.m. BST) from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Zayas, 21-0 (13 KOs) fights on MSG grounds for the eighth time in his six-year career, including his fourth in a row at The Theater. The 22-year-old South Florida-based Puerto Rican contender is coming off a ninth-round knockout of Slawa Spomer on February 14 to secure his place as the leading WBO 154lbs contender.
The belt became available when Sebastian Fundora, 23-1-1 (15 KOs) entered a rematch with former titlist Tim Tszyu in lieu of a mandatory defense against Zayas.
Mexico’s Garcia, 33-4 (26 KOs) earned this opportunity with an upset 12-round, split decision victory over then-unbeaten Charles Conwell on April 19 in Oceanside, California. The win was his eighth in a row, all within the past 25 months.
Also on the show, rising featherweight contender Bruce Carrington, 15-0 (9 KOs) takes on Namibia’s Mateus Heita (14-0, 9 KOs). Both boxers were well under the limit for their vacant WBC interim title fight – Brooklyn’s Carrington was 125lbs, while Heita weighed 124.8lbs.
ESPN, Saturday, 9:00 p.m. ET/Sunday 2:00 a.m. BST
12 rounds – junior middleweight (vacant WBO title)
Xander Zayas (154lbs) vs. Jorge Garcia (153lbs)
12 rounds – featherweight (vacant WBC interim title)
Bruce Carrington (125lbs) vs. Mateus Heita (124.8lbs)
8 rounds – junior welterweight
Emiliano Vargas (139.6lbs) vs. Alexander Espinoza (139.4lbs)
ESPN+, Saturday, 6:00 p.m. ET/11:00 p.m. BST
10 rounds – welterweight
Rohan Polanco (146.6lbs) vs. Quinton Randall (146.8lbs)
4 rounds – junior bantamweight
Juanmita Lopez (113.8lbs) vs. Jorge Gonzalez (114.8lbs)
10 rounds – featherweight
Yan Carlos Santana (124.8lbs) vs. Aaron Alameda (125.6lbs)
8 rounds – junior bantamweight
Steven Navarro (115lbs) vs. Christopher Rios (114.4lbs)
4 rounds – junior lightweight (133lbs contract limit)
Julius Ballo (132.6lbs) vs. Brandan Ayala (130.2lbs)
