Xander Zayas reportedly next to face Vergil Ortiz

I agree with everything outside the opinion that this is a downgrade. Xander is every bit as marketable as Fundora and especially Ennis. Young talented fighter making noise as he climbs the ranks. Xander was actually a name that came to my mind when the talks of Boots first moving up to 154lbs. Athlete vs Athlete. IQ vs IQ.......

A match up of Ortiz vs Zayas isn't something I put much thought to honestly, but it's very intriguing.

 

dont forget this fits the mexico vs puerto rico rivalry, american style. those are 2 huge boxing fanbases.

 

To be fair, it's going to be a bigger mainstream fight than Ortiz-Ennis because of the Mexico vs PR angle.

Also, it's a downgrade from Ennis, but not Fundora. Fundora sucks. I'd rather see Vergil fight Zayas, because we don't know Zayas' worth. I already know that Fundora would get stopped Ortiz.

 

Can't think of anything Zayas does better? Have you seen them fight? Zayas footwork and defense is much better than what we've seen from Ortiz. And he'll need both if he has any chance at getting out of this bout with a win.

 

Good these prospects need to stop being so protected the zero shouldn't mean anything get in there and fight lad.

 

Not sure if you have been paying attention to Ortiz before this year. Vergil turned down a Crawford fight twice. It was reported by the WBO sanctioning body themselves that they made 2 different attempts to his camp while he was the mandatory for 2 years. Because of the rejections, that's when the WBO officially moved Ortiz down and replaced him with Shawn Porter as the mandatory. Shawn Porter eventually turned down a $2.5M offer thus causing the WBO to mandate the fight that eventually went to a purse bid.

 

I honestly did forget that for a second, and that is a HUGE drawing point for this match up. Thanks for that.

 

Ennis is not a bigger draw than Fundora. At the most they are about equal. Ennis really hasn't done anything and his one big accomplishment, his world title, was gained only because Crawford was legally tied to a contract and it became the excuse for stripping him after he made history.

Honestly, you are the first I've heard say that Fundora sucks. I wouldn't go that far, but I don't think he's close to elite.

 

Xander will beat Ortiz, he's the most underrated pure boxer in the sport

 

he hasnt developed a 3rd gear. ortiz starts in 3rd gear. thats gonna be a problem.

 

Why do you think that now is any different from when they both were welterweights. Crawford was a title holder at 147lbs trying to get unification bouts vs the title holders at the time. Fights that enhanced his legacy. Even with no fights lined up, his mandatory, Vergil Ortiz was very casual about facing Crawford. As a matter of fact, you won't find any footage of him actually "calling out Crawford".... He normally only mentioned Crawford when someone asked him specifically about him. Crawford was sitting ring side of the Hooker fight. Ortiz's opportunity to tell Crawford he was gunning for him was right there.....and look at how passive he answer the question as Crawford looked at him from outside the ring.

Fast forward to NOW. Ortiz isn't barking about wanting to share the ring with Crawford at 154lbs, even though Crawford has no fights lined up. Crawford, a title holder, is currently trying to make fights that enhance his legacy. Unification bouts and/or a huge payday vs Canelo. I'm not one to claim anyone is afraid of anyone at that level because they don't get to that level by having fear of competition, but it is clear that Ortiz is not willfully knocking on the door waiting on Crawford to answer. And the biggest difference is, he's not Crawford's mandatory for the WBA. I don't even think he is ranked by the WBA.

I agree, it would be a much better matchup than a Zayas fight. That goes without saying, but what does it benefit Crawford to fight Ortiz. He man with no title and no real motivation on sharing the ring with him. Honestly there is no one at this division who is legit gunning for Crawford. It's sickening to tell you the truth. The one man who claimed he would give him the smoke he is looking for has disappeared from the sport ever since Crawford whipped on his homeboy Spence......yes, I'm talking about Charlo. I think that would have been a massive fight to bring to Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, NE.....where Crawford has recent expressed interest in fighting at.

 

It is my understanding that the purpose of Turki's presence at Virgil's last fight was to set up Bud vs Virgil if Virgil was victorious. When questioned after victory about facing Bud, I thought I heard Virgil say he was ready. Turki then tried to make the fight happen, but Bud declined stating that he only wanted to fight Canelo.

 

He's too reckless and Hooker was competitive with him, Zayas is naturally larger and defensively responsible. He's about to box Ortiz face off

 

i like zander, i think hes good...but hes not that good. i think hes gonna catch a pretty good beating.