politics
Ennis to Challenge Zayas for WBA and WBO Super Welterweight Titles
The unbeaten Philadelphia fighter challenges the 23-year-old Puerto Rican champion at Barclays Center. Ennis enters as a roughly 5-1 favorite after unifying welterweight belts in 2025.
espn.comAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
Jaron Ennis will challenge Xander Zayas for the WBA and WBO super-welterweight titles on Saturday night at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The Guardian reported that Ennis, undefeated in 36 professional fights with 31 wins inside the distance, holds world championships at 147 lb and 154 lb.
Ennis, who turns 29 on Friday, is the WBA’s interim champion at 154 lb and a former WBA and IBF title-holder at welterweight.
He unified the WBA, IBF and Ring magazine welterweight titles in April 2025 before moving up in weight. His 154 lb debut came in October with a first-round knockout of Uisma Lima in Philadelphia. Zayas, 23, from San Juan, Puerto Rico, became boxing’s youngest active world champion last summer.
Oddsmakers have installed Ennis as roughly a 5-1 favorite. The Guardian reported that Ennis told promoter Eddie Hearn to pursue the bout after a planned fight with Vergil Ortiz Jr. fell through earlier this year.
Ennis, 5 ft 10 in tall with a 74 in reach, won a National Golden Gloves title in Las Vegas at age 17. He is from Philadelphia’s Germantown section. His father, Derek “Bozy” Ennis, fought professionally before becoming a trainer, and Ennis has two older brothers who also boxed.
“I feel like people be underlooking my defense. My defense is really crazy,” Ennis told The Guardian. “I feel like one person said one thing and then all of a sudden I get hit too much.
