Xander Zayas vs Abass Baraou WBO/WBA Super Welterweight Unification Is For January 31st In Puerto Rico

Press Release:

Puerto Rican star Xander Zayas, boxing’s youngest male world champion, will kick off 2026 with a historic home soil event. The 23-year-old WBO junior middleweight world champion will face WBA king Abass Baraou in a title unification fight on Saturday, Jan. 31, at Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

This will be only the second title unification bout to take place on Puerto Rican soil, following the 2010 light flyweight battle between Ivan Calderon and Giovani Segura.

The Coliseo de Puerto Rico first hosted boxing with Miguel Cotto’s knockout over Kelson Pinto in 2004 and has since hosted world title events featuring Puerto Rican icons such as Calderon, Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez, and Roman Martinez.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with ICON+, Move Concerts, and Noah Assad Presents, ticket on-sale information will be announced soon.

Zayas (22-0, 13 KOs) rose from teenage prodigy to world champion before his 23rd birthday. He captured his first regional strap in August 2022 with a fifth-round stoppage of Mexican veteran Elias Espadas, then added another belt that December by outpointing Alexis Salazar. After multiple defenses, he climbed to the No. 1 spot in the WBO rankings and faced upset-minded Jorge Garcia in July at his home away from home in New York City. Zayas earned a one-sided decision just six weeks before turning 23 and less than six years after turning pro as a 17-year-old in Reno, Nevada.

Baraou (17-1, 9 KOs) spent his early childhood in his family’s native Togo before returning to Germany at age nine. A standout amateur, he won gold at the 2017 European Championships and bronze at that year’s World Championships, where he lost to two-time Olympic Gold medalist Roniel Iglesias. He turned pro in 2018 and has won eight since his lone defeat, a 2020 split decision loss to former world title challenger Jack Culcay. His breakout moment came in August when he upset Cuba’s Yoenis Tellez to capture the WBA interim title, scoring a knockdown in the closing seconds of the 12th round. He was elevated to full champion the following month after Terence Crawford vacated the title. Barou has won five consecutive fights outside of Germany, including a 2024 decision over Sam Eggington in England to capture the European title.

The undercard will feature Puerto Rican second-generation hopeful Juanmita Lopez De Jesus (4-0, 2 KOs), the 19-year-old son of the aforementioned “Juanma.” He will see action in a six-round junior bantamweight tilt against an opponent to be named.

Juanmita made his pro debut in February with a highlight-reel first-round knockout. He fought at home in April before returning on the undercard of Zayas’ world title triumph in July. Juanmita went the six-round distance for the first time in September, outpointing Luis Morales. His father notched five early-round knockouts at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico, including a pair of world title defenses.