If you didn’t watch boxing this weekend, you missed the kind of night that rearranges weight divisions. Jaron “Boots” Ennis didn’t just beat Xander Zayas — he made a statement so loud that everyone from 147 to 160 had to hear it. And across the country in Las Vegas, a Filipino legend’s comeback hit a wall.
Let’s break it all down.
Ennis vs. Zayas: The Fight Itself
Coming in, this was the best matchup boxing could make at 154 pounds. Two undefeated champions, both in their primes, both with something to prove. Zayas had unified the WBA and WBO belts against Abass Baraou earlier this year. Ennis was the welterweight destroyer moving up, chasing greatness. The Barclays Center was sold out — and from the opening bell, you could tell the crowd was riding with Puerto Rico.
Zayas came out sharp. He was the aggressor early, pressing forward behind a stiff jab, trying to establish the kind of pace that had broken Baraou. For about three rounds, you could squint and see a path where the younger man’s volume and pressure would wear Ennis down. He landed clean body shots. He made Ennis think.
And then Boots adjusted.
That’s the thing about watching Ennis — you’re not just watching power and speed. You’re watching a chess player in boxing gloves. He started switching stances, mixing orthodox and southpaw looks that disrupted Zayas’s rhythm. The jab that was landing clean in round two was suddenly meeting air. And when Ennis planted his feet and let combinations go, the difference in firepower became impossible to ignore.
He dropped Zayas three times. Three. The first knockdown came off a short right hand that Zayas never saw — the kind of punch that makes you rewind the tape because it happens in a blink. The second was a body shot that folded Zayas at the waist. By the seventh, when the referee stepped in for the TKO, there was no controversy. The better man won, and he won decisively.
Ennis is now 36-0 with 32 knockouts. He holds the WBA and WBO junior middleweight titles. He’s 28 years old and just getting comfortable at the weight.
What This Means for 154 — and Beyond
The super welterweight division has been crying out for a king since Jermell Charlo vacated. Zayas looked like he might be the guy. Now? It’s Ennis’s division, and everyone else is chasing.
Eddie Hearn was already floating Vergil Ortiz Jr.’s name after the fight, and honestly, that’s the one. Ortiz is a monster at 154 — undefeated, heavy-handed, relentless. Ennis vs. Ortiz would be a legitimate superfight, the kind that gets casual fans to pay attention. Ennis himself said he wants to be undisputed, and with the WBC and IBF belts held elsewhere, there’s a unification tournament waiting to happen.
But I want to say something about Xander Zayas too. He’s 23 years old, now 23-1, and he fought like a champion even in defeat. He didn’t quit. He got up from knockdowns that would have ended most fighters’ nights. Puerto Rico has another special one — this loss doesn’t change that. He’ll be back, and he’ll be better for it.
Ancajas Falls to Trinidad in Las Vegas
If you’re Filipino like me, Sunday morning came with that familiar mix of hope and anxiety. Jerwin “Pretty Boy” Ancajas, the former IBF junior bantamweight king who defended that belt nine times, was fighting Omar Trinidad at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. A win would put him back in the featherweight conversation. A loss? At 34, with four losses already on his ledger, the margins get thin.
Trinidad won a unanimous decision. The scores weren’t close.
Here’s the hard truth: Ancajas looked every bit his age against a younger, fresher Trinidad (now 21-0-2). The hand speed that once made Ancajas one of the best super flyweights in the world wasn’t there. He was reactive instead of proactive. Trinidad controlled distance, landed the sharper punches, and never let Ancajas build any momentum.
It’s not the end for Ancajas — he’s a proud warrior from Panabo City who’s given Philippine boxing incredible moments. But the road back from here is steep. The featherweight division is loaded, and at 34, you don’t get many more “one more shot” opportunities.
This is the reality of the sport we love. For every Boots Ennis rising, there’s a Jerwin Ancajas fighting to hold on.
The Rest of the Weekend
Jose Valenzuela KO2 Edwin De Los Santos. The main event of Zuffa Boxing 8 ended in explosive fashion. Valenzuela (now 15-3) flattened De Los Santos in the second round with a counter left hand that sent a message to the lightweight division. Don’t sleep on this result — De Los Santos was 17-1 coming in and had been in the Gervonta Davis conversation. Valenzuela just crashed that party.
Emiliano Vargas TKO4 Bryce Mills. Fernando Vargas’s son is building something. Emiliano moved to 14-0 with a dominant stoppage on the Barclays undercard, switching stances, working the body, and showing the kind of polish that suggests he’s more than just a famous last name. Keep an eye on this kid.
Ben Whittaker TKO2 Richard Rivera. The British light heavyweight made his U.S. debut and made it count. A flashy, confident performance — an overhand right in round one, a left hook to end it in round two. Whittaker has star potential, and the American audience just got introduced.
News & Notes
A few things that didn’t happen in the ring but matter just as much:
Usyk vacating his titles. The unified heavyweight champion says he’s planning one “last dance” and dropping all three belts. If this is really the end, what a career. Usyk cleaned out cruiserweight, then went up and beat Joshua twice and Fury. If his last fight is against the winner of Kabayel vs. whoever, it’s a victory lap. If it’s against a top contender, it’s a test. Either way, the heavyweight division is about to open up in a way it hasn’t since the Klitschko era ended.
Canelo vs. Mbilli pushed to October. Originally targeted for September, Ring Magazine reports the super middleweight unification is sliding back a month. Not surprising — these mega-fights always take longer to finalize than anyone admits. But it means we’re waiting until late fall to see Canelo back in the ring.
Mayweather-Zambidis cancelled. Court documents filed Thursday confirmed the exhibition is off. At this point, Mayweather exhibitions are more likely to fall through than happen. The man is 49 years old and the circus may finally be running out of tents.
Joshua vs. Fury in the U.S.? Eddie Hearn says there’s been “no request” for the fight to be held stateside despite Vegas rumors. Frankly, this fight needs to happen in the UK. Wembley Stadium, 90,000 fans, the biggest all-British heavyweight clash in history. Anything less would feel wrong.
The Filipino Fight Game
This wasn’t the weekend Philippine boxing wanted. Ancajas losing in Vegas stings — he’s one of ours, a fighter who carried the IBF belt through nine defenses when most people outside hardcore circles didn’t even know his name. That’s the reality of the lower weight classes, and it’s a story Filipino boxing fans know too well.
But here’s the thing about Philippine boxing: it doesn’t stay down. We’ve got Bam Rodriguez carrying the torch — yeah, I know he’s American, but that Filipino flag on his trunks means something to us. Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio are Olympic medalists. The Casimeros, the Donaire lineage, the Pacquiao legacy — we produce fighters, and we produce them in numbers.
One tough weekend doesn’t change that. It just reminds us that the fight game gives and takes with equal indifference.
Next weekend brings Abdullah Mason defending his WBO lightweight title against Albert Bell and Bruce Carrington defending the WBC featherweight belt. The calendar doesn’t stop. Neither should your attention.