Latest news with #TopRankBoxing
Forbes
5 days ago
- Sport
- Forbes
Xander Zayas Vs. Jorge Garcia Results, Full Fight Card Results
Puerto Rico's Xander Zayas, right, punches Mexico's Jorge Garcia during the sixth round of a ... More middleweight championship boxing match Saturday, July 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) Xander Zayas is the youngest world champion in boxing. The 22-year-old boxed circles around Jorge Garcia on Saturday night at The Theater in Madison Square Garden and captured the vacant WBO junior middleweight championship. Zayas prevailed via unanimous decision with scores of 116-112, 119-109, and 118-110 in a one-sided fight fit for the Puerto Rican superstar's championship coronation. The fight wasn't as close as the 116-112 card indicated as Garcia mostly swung wildly through the fight, though he did land the occasional body shot. No harm done—the right fighter won. The crowd was electric and packed with proud Puerto Ricans there to cheer on their next boxing sensation. Zayas acknowledged them, his mom, and fans who have supported him through the journey to championship level. Here is a look at the CompuBox numbers. The ultimate moment in the fight came in the ninth when Zayas landed a nasty one-two combination that appeared to wobble Garcia. It was the closest the tough Mexican came to being stopped, but it also served as the final stamp of Zayas' dominance on the night. There was no controversy here—just a young fighter putting it all together under the lights in New York City. After the fight, reaction across the boxing world came quick. Top Rank Boxing, Zayas' promoter that signed him to a historic deal when he was just 16, captured the moment in this post: Future Hall-of-Famer Terence Crawford sent congratulations Zayas' way. Long-time boxing fan and Hollywood legend Rosie Perez took to X to congratulate Zayas as well. After the fight, Zayas had a lot to say about his country and what he'd like next. "It was amazing. It's amazing to be here and to represent Puerto Rico at the highest level. And to just put the pride of my island where it belongs, at the top." Zayas also called for a unification fight with WBC champion Sebastian Fundora or IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev. Full Card Results Garcia didn't get an opportunity to speak on the ESPN broadcast. However, he made a solid account of himself. He never quit, but he was outmatched by superior hand speed, defensive instincts, and punch accuracy. He'll get another opportunity to have a meaningful fight at 154 pounds, but on Saturday, he was beat by a better fighter. Zayas says he will be ready to fight in December, so we'll see who he gets. He turns 23 in September and because of his frame, it'll be interesting to see how long he chooses to stay at 154 pounds. It'll also be fun to watch how big of a role he plays at the forefront of Top Rank Boxing as the promotion transitions to another network. Because of Zayas' youth and built-in fanbase, you'd think he is one of the more valuable fighters on their roster.
Forbes
5 days ago
- Sport
- Forbes
Xander Zayas Vs. Jorge Garcia: Date, Time And How To Watch
Zayas - Garcia Is Saturday night the coronation of boxing's next great Puerto Rican champion? We'll find out on a historic show at an iconic event when the undefeated Xander Zayas (21-0, 13 KOs) takes on Mexico's Jorge Garcia (33-4, 26 KOs) in the main event of what figures to be Top Rank Boxing's final show on ESPN. The event takes place at The Theater in Madison Square Garden where Zayas is a perfect 7-0 and looking to remain unblemished. At stake, the two men will battle for the vacant WBO junior middleweight world championship. Here's the details you'll need to follow along. NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 14: Xander Zayas punches Slawa Spomer during their junior ... More middleweight fight during their junior bantamweight fight during their lightweight fight during their welterweight fight, during their heavyweight fight at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on February 14, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by) Edgar Berlanga was originally thought to be heir apparent when it comes to Puerto Rican boxing royalty, but his career has fallen on hard times with a loss to Canelo Alvarez in 2024 and a KO loss at the hands of Hamzah Sheeraz earlier this month in New York. With all due respect to Subriel Mattias, who just captured the WBC 135-pound title in a hard-fought battle against Alberto Puello on July 12, Zayas' popularity and star power seem to give him a higher vs. Garcia Date, Time and How to Watch Zayas - Garcia Full Card Xander Zayas – Last 5 Fights Jorge Garcia – Last 5 Fights Bruce 'Shu Shu' Carrington vs. Mateus Heita – Undercard Spotlight LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 29: Bruce Carrington waits to make his walk to the ring for a ... More featherweight bout against Jose Enrique Vivas at BleauLive Theater at Fontainebleau Las Vegas on March 29, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Carrington won the bout with a third-round TKO. (Photo by) 'Shu Shu' Carrington has been one of the standout prospects in Top Rank's pipeline, and Saturday's co-feature gives him a massive opportunity to prove he's ready for more. The undefeated Brooklyn native will face Mateus Heita with the interim WBC featherweight title on the line—a serious jump in stakes and visibility. Carrington's rise has been steady and highlight-worthy, but Heita's never been stopped and brings real power from Angola. If Carrington can stay sharp and deliver another signature performance, this could fast-track him into a title shot before the year ends. The Bottom Line: Zayas vs. Garcia Zayas' potential ascent to championship status is happening in the right fight. It would appear Garcia will be the toughest opponent Zayas has faced in his young career. Zayas has looked confident, poised and like a business-minded young star ready to call himself a champion. Garcia has been in with some of the top fighters in the weight class and he too is hungry to raise championship gold. If Zayas stays defensively responsible, his superior offensive gifts will land him the title he's been chasing. If he doesn't, things could get interesting and we could have a war on our hands. If Zayas wins, he could find himself fighting in the big room at MSG. But first things first, he has to handle Garcia, and that will not be an easy task. It's Puerto Rico vs. Mexico again with a world title on the line. Stay tuned as I will have the fight night coverage.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Top Rank's future finally arrives on Saturday — just as the boxing stalwart's platform disappears
Saturday's night presentation of Top Rank Boxing on ESPN will represent the sport's final telecast on any linear network in the U.S. for the foreseeable future. It remains to be seen where Top Rank will next land, but the promotional entity will carry a swarm of reigning titlists and talented young fighters to its next destination. In that regard, this weekend almost feels like a graduation for two of its young guns: Xander Zayas and Bruce Carrington. Versions of major titles are at stake in each of their fights this Saturday. Zayas (21-0, 13 KOs) — a charismatic 22-year-old Boricua based in South Florida — faces Mexico's Jorge Garcia (33-4, 26 KOs) for the vacant WBO super welterweight title in the main event. Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) returns to his New York City roots in a WBC interim featherweight title fight against Namibia's Mateus Heita (14-0, 9 KOs) in the co-feature. Both bouts will air live on ESPN, beginning at 9 p.m. ET from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The telecast also features red-hot lightweight prospect Emiliano Vargas (14-0, 12 KOs), the 21-year-old son of former two-time super welterweight champion Fernando Vargas. All three fights are examples of the bright future in store for Top Rank, regardless of what work remains in order to land a long-term network or streaming deal. While Vargas is still in the prospect stage, Zayas and Carrington are poised to emerge as major stakeholders in the company. Zayas was still one month shy of just his 15th birthday when Top Rank first took its talents to ESPN in 2017. He didn't turn pro for another two years, when — at age 16 — he became the company's youngest-ever signee in its 50-plus-year history. 'We've been wrong on a bunch of guys, and we've been right on a bunch as well,' Carl Moretti, vice president of operations for Top Rank previously told Uncrowned of Zayas. 'We always saw the potential in Xander — the raw talent, the potential marketability, and he was so mature for such a young kid. 'He was just 16 at the time when he was first on our radar. We had a plan to build him up the right way, it was going to be up to him to prove that he was ready.' Zayas was truly brought along the conventional route as he's reached this point. The early years were limited to where he could fight prior to his 18th birthday. In fact, he celebrated that very occasion in his home state, on a Telemundo show in Kissimmee, Florida during the heart of the pandemic. Zayas became a reliable ticket-seller the moment he was positioned to fight not just in front of fans, but in markets where he could energize his base — Central and South Florida, and then onward to New York City. Saturday will mark Zayas' eighth career fight on MSG grounds, including his fourth in a row. The run began with his first main event, a 10-round virtual shutout of former WBO 154-pound champion Patrick Teixeira in June 2024 at MSG's The Theater. The show took place on the eve of New York's Puerto Rican Day Parade, Zayas' second year in a row where he fought on that celebrated weekend. 'This is like my second home,' Zayas told Uncrowned. It's a place my team and I enjoy our time there.' Fittingly, that second home will now host his first major title fight. Zayas hoped the occasion would have come against Sebastian Fundora (23-1-1, 15 KOs), who entered 2025 as the unified WBC and WBO 154-pound champ. By late March, Zayas was named the WBO mandatory challenger with whom Fundora was instructed to enter negotiations. Their ordered fight was scheduled for a May purse bid hearing before Fundora withdrew from the proceedings after being bound to a late-activated rematch clause by Tim Tszyu. He was forced to give up the WBO belt, which left Zayas to instead face the highest-ranked available challenger. 'I was disappointed at first,' admitted Zayas. 'Top Rank has always believed in me and I wanted to show that I was ready to become a champion by beating the champ. I was looking forward to fighting Fundora to win two titles, especially on this show. 'All I can focus on is what is happening. I'm fighting for a world title and the chance to show that I am the future of Top Rank Boxing.' The occasion comes with a familiar face in tow, as Zayas, 22, and Carrington, 28, will share a card for the sixth time. 'I always love sharing the card with Xander,' Carrington fondly told Uncrowned. 'We always shut it down out here. We always put on a great performance. 'It's only right that we're on this show together, taking that next step in our careers. He's getting his world title shot, I have the opportunity to guarantee my world title shot.' Carrington enjoyed a co-starring role in Zayas' aforementioned headlining debut in June 2024, and the unbeaten Brooklyn native more than did his part to get the crowd hyped. A sensational eighth-round stoppage of Brayan De Gracia drew rabid cheers from the Boricua-heavy crowd that night, among his own local supporters. Affectionately known as 'Shu Shu,' the rising featherweight left The Theater with a new nickname from his adoring fans. 'The Puerto Ricans always show me love,' Carrington noted. 'I'm from New York, I'm from Brooklyn — it's only right that we connect like that. I remember last year when I went to Puerto Rico for vacation after my win over Bernardo Torres. The WBO had a nice event in my honor when I won their intercontinental title. 'Then after that, on Puerto Rican Day weekend with Xander in the main event (against Teixeira), I got the knockout. The fans loved it, started chanting 'Shu-yo Rico.' I loved it, man. I brought a lot of my fans, and Xander's fans also showed out and became mine as well. It means a lot that Xander and I get to share this stage again.' Whereas Zayas turned pro well before he could represent Puerto Rico in the Olympics, Carrington was on that very path for the U.S. In fact, he won out during the Olympic Trials in 2019, the traditional path toward securing a place on amateur boxing's highest stage during any other time. However, Carrington had the unfortunate luck of his qualifying tournament getting wiped out due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was snubbed from a rightful spot due to a pre-pandemic rankings system that left him just below Duke Ragan, who went on to capture a Silver medal for the U.S. during the delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Carrington instead took his talents to the next level and never looked back. His pro debut came on the October 2021 undercard of the epic Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder rubber match in Las Vegas, Nevada. It's been a rapid ascension through the ranks ever since. Carrington entered his first scheduled 10-rounder by just his 10th pro fight. It came in a second-round knockout of former title challenger Jason Sanchez on a December 2023 show that also saw Zayas register a knockout win in South Florida. The mission for Carrington from the moment 2024 flipped into 2025 has been to secure his own first world title fight. He took a step forward with a third-round knockout of Enrique Vivas on a March 29 ESPN show in Las Vegas. Less time was spent annihilating the normally durable Vivas — who was never stopped in 26 previous bouts — than during his epic post-fight callout of every featherweight titleholder. 'I want all the top champs, you already know,' Carrington said after his stoppage win. 'But let me specific. Nick Ball? I want that [WBA] title. WBC, Stephen Fulton? Yeah, I want that, I want that. Let's get this work in, I want all that. I'm top five in all the sanctioning bodies. Let's get this work in, stop ducking. 'You know I'll chop that tree down, too [referring to 6-foot-tall WBO featherweight titlist Rafael Espinoza]. I've been calling his name out since last year. Stop playing. You got to ask him the question if he wants to fight me. I've been saying I want to fight. I'm not ducking nobody, I want this work. Come see me.' Naturally, none of the sport's featherweight champions have taken him up on that offer, though that could soon change. A win on Saturday will leave Carrington with the WBC interim 126-pound title, and effectively the mandatory challenger to Fulton's full WBC title. It comes on a night when his longtime promotional stablemate is now 12 rounds or less from emerging as a major player in the talent-rich super welterweight division. 'Xander is a master of craft, so polished and he's young,' Carrington said of his Boricua counterpart. 'Now, he's fighting for this world title. I'm so excited to see where his career goes. We're going in the same direction together. It just feels right that it's happening this way.' Weirdly, it's happening on a night that — absent an 11th-hour deal to renew terms — all but guarantees it's the last time we see either boxer on ESPN, or any other traditional television channel. However, it only means the beginning of the next chapter for both fighters. Top Rank continues to regularly conduct business with boxing financier Turki Alalshikh, head of the Riyadh Season group that serves as a major — if not the chief — powerbroker in the sport. Alalshikh also purchased Ring Magazine last November, and continues to recruit fighters both for his shows and as Ring Ambassadors for the publication and its various platforms. Carrington is one of several such ambassadors, as are fellow Top Rank signees Keyshawn Davis (13-0, 9 KOs) and Abdullah Mason (19-0, 17 KOs). Davis was among the sport's hottest young rising stars before a personal crash out in June, where he badly missed weight for a planned WBO lightweight title defense in his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia. On the plus side, the event was on course to surpass the gate total from the fantastic turnout from his previous headliner this past November. The June incident aside, the 2020 Olympic silver medalist is too talented and otherwise business savvy for that setback to keep him benched for very long. Mason, 21, became the benefactor from Davis' fallout. He wound up headlining that June 8 card and will now fight for Davis' old WBO 135-pound title. It will come against England's Sam Noakes on the stacked Nov. 22 "Ring IV" show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The card also features fellow Top Rank signee Brian Norman Jr. (28-0, 22 KOs), the red-hot 24-year-old knockout artist who is coming off the year's leading Knockout of the Year candidate. Norman emphatically starched Jin Sasaki in the fifth round in June to defend his WBO welterweight title for the second time. He next risks it against former two-division champ Devin Haney on "Ring IV." Norman is one of 11 current titleholders either promoted by, or affiliated through co-promotion or other working arrangements with, Top Rank. The list also includes undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (30-0, 27 KOs), Uncrowned's No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter. Zayas and Mason are both favored to win their respective title fights. Carrington, with a win on Saturday, could see an upgrade to full title status if not a shot for the real thing against the well-credentialed Fulton. The current state of Top Rank may not resemble the star-heavy roster — Terence Crawford, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Manny Pacquiao, among others — it boasted at the start of its ESPN deal. Time will tell, though, if among this current crop will emerge as the sport's next best thing. Two such hopefuls plan to graduate from their current stage this weekend and embark on that very journey. 'I'm honored to be in this position, to headline this show and have the chance to play a big role in Top Rank's next step ahead,' said Zayas. 'They have made every right move in my career, and lived up to all the promises made when we signed with them six years ago. 'Now, it's my turn to live up to my promise and become their next world champion and their next big star.'
Time of India
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
‘Content Is King,' and Paul Is a Divisive Fight Promoter
Love him or loathe him, Jake Paul , who first entered the public eye by posting videos of pranks on social media , has become the biggest draw in American boxing. Saturday night's pay-per-view bout on DAZN, in which Paul beat another long-past-his-prime world champion, Julio César Chávez Jr., in Anaheim, California, via unanimous decision, was his eighth headline fight since 2021. Paul has reportedly earned more than $60 million from the ring in his career. What it says about the state of the sport is not so clear. 'I think Jake Paul is brilliant as a marketer and an influencer,' said Todd duBoef, president of Top Rank Boxing. 'And I think he's done an incredible job. But I don't really believe it has anything to do with boxing.' The numbers don't lie, though. An estimated 108 million viewers caught at least a glimpse of Paul dancing around 58-year-old Mike Tyson live on Netflix last year in a bout that arrived with maximum hype but quickly devolved into an unsatisfying spectacle. Many observers decried the event's very existence. But it did little to dim Paul's drawing power. 'I've embraced the hate and done things consistently to push people's buttons, to build that hate even more,' Paul said in a recent interview. It's an old-school formula he has leaned into with new-school annoyance, and he is well aware that people will tune in hoping to see him be knocked out. 'In this sport, monetizing that hate can be very lucrative,' he said. 'You look at all the big people — they were all villains, from Floyd to Mike Tyson to Muhammad Ali . People forget Muhammad Ali was one of the most hated figures in the world. I see myself as a similar story.' That Paul would be brazen enough to mention himself in the same breath as Ali, Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr., three of the best fighters in boxing history, is the type of antic that drives many people to root against him. Ali, after all, came to prominence during the civil rights era, when his unapologetic confidence upended the expectation that Black athletes would be quiet and humble. He unleashed some of the most poetic trash talk the sports world has heard, but his anti-war stance cost him championship belts and years of his prime. Paul faces nothing like that kind of pressure. His public career began with prank skits on Vine. He later skirted COVID-19 restrictions in California by throwing large parties and was sued by his neighbors for being a public nuisance. His resume includes beating a retired NBA player and former mixed martial arts fighters years past their prime. It does not take a trained eye to know that Paul's talk of eventual world titles is all talk; the imperfection in his 12-1 professional record was a loss to Tommy Fury, a journeyman who became a reality dating show contestant. And yet Paul, 28, believes he would be heralded as the next great American prospect if he weren't a YouTuber with Disney Channel roots. The sport's purists would scoff at that. Boxing's 'Check engine' light may glow brighter with each of his ring walks, but he is undeniably a magnet for attention. 'I don't know why he set his sights on boxing,' said Mark Kriegel, who wrote Tyson's biography. 'But it was a pretty smart calculation.' Paul has become the rare promoter who straps on gloves and turns himself into the product. 'I think he might be one of three people in my lifetime who understand the media better than the media understands itself,' Kriegel said. 'The other two being Al Sharpton and Donald Trump . He just has an intuitive sense of what people want.' The greatest promoters have always built hype, provoked engagement and told stories. But in a crowded media space in which sports are competing with TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, HBO and Hulu for attention, the modern-day promoter needs a breakthrough. Enter boxing, a sport in desperate need of an American disrupter. 'Content is king,' Paul said. 'And I think that's where I come into the picture — telling the stories, using my platform, promoting these events and promoting other fighters.' Top Rank's duBoef sees it. He calls Paul wonderful for the industry, but he draws a hard line between Paul's spectacle and the sport itself. When duBoef considers the health of boxing, he views it through a global prism. He starts in Japan, where there is a renaissance behind the pound-for-pound king Naoya Inoue. In England, he points to Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium on July 19. In North America, he cites Canelo Álvarez and David Benavidez, who draw massive crowds. The biggest fight in the sport in 2025 is likely to be Álvarez facing Terence Crawford on Sept. 13 in Las Vegas. For duBoef, Paul's fights live in a different bucket: an entertainment adjacent to boxing, in the same way that the PGA Tour should not be concerned about Aaron Rodgers battling Tom Brady in the match. Paul would have been just as successful playing 3-on-3 basketball, chess, tennis or pickleball, duBoef believes. In a moment of humble levity, Paul echoed duBoef, to a point. 'I think there are better boxers,' Paul said, acknowledging the Benavidezes and Inoues of the world. 'But outside the ring, I'm one of the most important in boxing. Just because of the new eyeballs running to the sport.' The eyeballs Paul is drawing into boxing are not just for him. He is helping others make names, too, cultivating an ecosystem of potential future stars within his Most Valuable Promotions brand, in the same vein as Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions. The rematch between Amanda Serrano of MVP and Katie Taylor thrived so mightily on the Paul-Tyson undercard in November that the women will complete their trilogy at Madison Square Garden in New York on July 11 on their own Netflix card. 'It's too easy to dismiss him as just a provocateur,' Kriegel said. 'Promoters promote. There are too many promoters in this sport who just hang out a shingle and let someone with money pay for their promotion. You wouldn't have seen Serrano-Taylor 2 reach that audience if it weren't for that card.' Whether that is inspiring, infuriating, repulsive or innovative, Paul's persisting existence in boxing is certainly not neutral. For those who believe boxing should be about skill, belts, rankings and legacies, Paul is a warning sign. For those who prize entertainment, reach and pop-culture relevance, Paul is the adrenaline shot that the sport needs. Either way, feeling anything is infinitely more valuable than apathy. 'That Gen Z category all got aware of the sport,' duBoef said. Yes, Paul had another boxing match Saturday night. People didn't tune in for world-class footwork or heady feints. But don't think ignoring it would have made it go away. A man many boxing purists despise just might be essential to the sport's health. 'It seems to me like there's this elaborate dance,' Kriegel said. 'And most of the time, he gets what he wants.'
Daily Mail
23-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Boxer Jin Sasaki loses SIX WEEKS of memories after being knocked out in world title fight
Japanese boxer Jin Sasaki has lost six weeks of his memory after being knocked out in his world title fight by Brian Norman Jr in Tokyo last week. The talented 23-year-old welterweight can't remember the brutal fifth-round stoppage – or anything that happened earlier this month or the majority of May. Sasaki was knocked unconscious by a powerful counter left hook thrown by his American opponent that connected flush on his chin. He fell to the canvas heavily and was motionless for minutes afterwards, before being stretchered away by ringside medical staff. Medical scans showed that Sasaki had no serious brain injury, but according to the president of his boxing gym, Issei Nakaya, part of the fighter's memory has been wiped. Sasaki reportedly told him: 'I don't even remember that this title match was decided.' OUT COLD!!! THE CHAMP PUT HIM TO SLEEP 🤯🔥 — Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) June 19, 2025 A statement on the condition of the boxer read: 'Sasaki Tsutomu was taken to the hospital after the match and underwent a CT scan. 'There were no injuries such as bleeding. However, he hit the back of his head hard and is currently losing his memory. 'There were no visible physical injuries, but we will be keeping an eye on him and he will be going back to the hospital tomorrow for another checkup.' Sasaki absorbed heavy punishment from Norman throughout the fight, being dropped twice in the opening round. The loss was just the Japanese fighter's second in his pro career, while Norman has extended his unbeaten run to 28-0. The American, who successfully defended his WBO 147-pound championship, will now look to unify the division. 'It was a wonderful fight,' Norman said in his post-fight interview. 'I had a very great opponent in front of me. Y'all seen that he got heart. That boy is not a slouch at all and I give nothing but props to him. 'I love y'all over here in Japan and I will gladly come back.'
