Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis Takes Xander Zayas Down Three Times Before Seventh Round Stoppage
In front of a sold-out crowd of over 16,000 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Top Rank, Matchroom Boxing, and Boots Promotions presented a stacked DAZN Pay-Per-View card headlined by Jaron “Boots” Ennis challenging WBA and WBO champion Xander Zayas. Ennis dropped Zayas three times before the champion’s corner threw in the towel in the seventh round.
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Zayas (23-1, 13 KOs), from Puerto Rico, was making his first title defense against former IBF welterweight champion Ennis (36-0, 31 KOs), from Philadelphia.
On his birthday, Ennis turned on the southpaw stance and spent little time making an impression. A little over a minute into the first round, he landed a left hand to the chin that sent Zayas to the canvas for referee Harvey Dock’s eight count. Ennis switched to orthodox in the second round and continued to land clean right hands while Zayas tried to recover.
The third round produced Zayas’ best moment of the fight when he connected with a hard right hand that forced Ennis to tap. It was one of the few rounds where Zayas had real success. By the fourth, Ennis had settled into his rhythm, repeatedly scoring with straight rights as both fighters traded blows near the end of the round.
A right uppercut midway through the fifth produced another knockdown. Zayas hit the count again but was clearly taking a penalty, and Ennis continued to land hard right hands before the bell.
Zayas showed great courage in the sixth, staying competitive despite trailing badly. In the seventh Ennis landed a left hand followed by a flurry of unanswered punches that dropped Zayas for the third time. Although Zayas got back to his feet again, his corner wisely threw in the towel to prevent further punishment.
Vargas Stops the Grinders
In the co-feature, Emiliano “El General” Vargas (18-0, 15 KOs) stopped Bryce Mills (22-2, 9 KOs) in the fourth round to retain his regional titles.
The opening two rounds were competitive. Vargas switched to southpaw at times and landed clean shots, while Mills had his best moment late in the second when a right hand stunned Vargas briefly.
Vargas broke the fight open in the third, scoring the first knockdown with a right hook. In the fourth, he took down the remaining Mills before another Mills took him down a third time, forcing referee Ricky Gonzalez to stop the contest.
Tucker Wins a Close Decision
Jahi Tucker (17-1-1, 7 KOs) earned a majority decision over 2020 Olympian Euri Cedeno (14-1-1, 12 KOs) to claim the vacant IBF North American, WBC USA, and WBO NABO middleweight titles.
The war was very much fought in the whole thing. Tucker started fast, Cedeno got stronger, and the middle rounds featured constant back-and-forth action. Cedeno used his reach well in the seventh and eighth before Tucker closed solidly in the final two rounds despite suffering from a bloody nose and swelling under his left eye.
The scores were 95-95, 97-93, and 98-92.
Whittaker Impresses US Creation
Olympic silver medalist Ben Whittaker (12-0-1, 9 KOs) needed less than two rounds to stop Richard “Popeye the Sailor Man” Rivera (27-3, 20 KOs).
Making his US debut, Whittaker won the opening bell before dropping Rivera with a right uppercut late in the first round. Early in the second, a left hook sent Rivera down again. Although Rivera beat the count, referee Michael Griffin looked at him and decided he had seen enough, and stopped the contest.
Thompson Avoids Separation Decision
Dennis “HFUP” Thompson (11-0, 6 KOs) won an eight-round split decision over Edwin Rodriguez (12-12-3, 5 KOs).
Thompson boxed early, but Rodriguez refused to cooperate with the script, turning the fight into a tough fight and looking much better than his record suggested. The final round was close, the judges returned the scores 79-73, 77-75 for Thompson, and 77-75 for Rodriguez.
Juanmita Finishes Early
Juanma “Juanmita” Lopez (6-0, 4 KOs), son of former two-division world champion Juan Manuel Lopez, needed one round to knock out Alberto Motos (6-3).
Lopez controlled the action before a straight left landed on Motos’ chin. Motos went down and failed to score when referee Ricky Gonzalez finished the fight to put him on the ground.
Williams Presents Baxter
Quincey Williams (8-0, 6 KOs) defeated Jerome “Thoroughbred” Baxter (8-3, 3 KOs) in eight rounds.
Williams controlled most of the fight with his striking and movement, while Baxter was credited with continuing to push forward despite being behind on cards. All three judges scored the contest 79-73 in favor of Williams.
Note: The final team of the night includes ring announcer David Diamante—not referee David Diamante, who somehow got his report.
Last updated on 2026/06/28 at 1:40 AM
