One of the best fights of the year — on paper — heads to Brooklyn this Saturday, June 27.
Live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, 23-year-old rising star Xander Zayas (23-0, 13 KOs) will defend his WBO and WBA Super Welterweight Titles against potential arguable pound-for-pound star Jaron "Boots" Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs), a former unified champion in the welterweight division.
It's been a while since I've written about boxing here, which was a weekly occurrence at one point (just in case you're new here), so here's everything you'll need to know about the fight.
Xander Zayas vs Jaron Ennis Boxing Odds
- Moneyline: Zayas (+380), Ennis (-500)
- Total Rounds: OU 11.5 Rounds (11.5)
Xander Zayas vs Jaron Ennis Prediction, Picks
This is one of the most interesting fights of the year on paper, even though this doesn't appear to be a true 50-50 betting-wise, as it does to a minority of people within boxing.
Both undefeated fighters enter this bout with extensive resume questions.
Boots' best win came against former welterweight champion Eimantas Stanionis in April of 2025, stopping him in six rounds to unify the IBF and WBA Welterweight titles. Stanionis, however, entered the bout after over 11 months away from the ring and participated in just his second fight in three years. This compared to Boots, who had two fights in the nine months leading up to the bout.
Otherwise, Ennis has beaten Karen Chukhadzhian twice and appeared to struggle at times in the second bout, although he told me he was just bored. I'm dead serious.
For Zayas, his best win came in January, outpointing WBA Champion Abass Baraou to unify the WBA and his WBO title. When I spoke to him last month, he also had questions about Zayas' resume.
People batter Zayas, but to his credit, he has unified and is just 23. Boots, who turns 29 today, needs a signature win; even his promoter, Eddie Hearn, knows it, he told me on Tuesday.
As a Puerto Rican like Zayas, I could objectively tell you Boots enters this fight as a justifiable favorite. -500? I don't know about that. But Boots has been better to this point, even if both resumes are lacking, Ennis more so, considering his age and trajectory.
Still, Zayas gets better each fight, and I genuinely believe he can win this bout. He has overwhelmed opponents with a combination of volume punching and movement. He isn't a runner at all, his ring generalship is advanced for his age, and he mixes in body shots regularly because, well, that's our culture.
Ennis is the more well-rounded, do-it-all, supremely talented boxer, who will be fighting at 154 pounds for just the second time. In the build-up to the fight, he suggested Zayas was having a "fat camp" and alleged that he weighed 190 before training.
Zayas, who is admittedly big and likely will be a middleweight (160 pounds) before too long, is clearly Ennis' biggest challenge from a literal standpoint. Banking on Ennis is banking on the skills to outweigh the… well, weight.
The head says Ennis, the heart says Zayas, but the brain says don't overthink it.
I lean Ennis, though I'd rather get value than confidently play the KO/TKO at -110 because I'm just not all the way there. But if you think Ennis stops him and have 100 percent conviction, you should bet it and take the under 11.5 rounds, and also bet Ennis to stop Zayas between Rounds 7-12 or 9-12 (or possibly 5-8), which are all plus money.
If you legitimately like Zayas, then the moneyline is good value on its own. Adding on the methods of victory would be worth it, but only if you're confident. Look at the decisions (unanimous, majority, split) more than the knockouts, though. A stoppage either way would surprise me, but a Zayas one would especially. If there's any stoppage position I'd want, it's Ennis between Rounds 9-12.
I mostly want Ennis, but I also want at least one Zayas position, in case this fight is as close as I think it is.
Remember, betting on boxing also takes into account how a fight is scored, not only how you would score it. And Zayas can take rounds on volume alone if you have judges who prioritize aggression.
Xander Zayas vs. Jaron Ennis Best Bets
- (LEAN) Ennis by decision (+180)
- (SPRINKLE) Ennis by MD/SD (+2200) / (+1500)
- (SPRINKLE) Zayas by MD/SD (+2700) / (+1900)
- (SPRINKLE) Draw (+1500)
Odds: FanDuel
