Xander Zayas Withdraws From June Fight In NYC

Xander Zayas will have to wait another year to fight on the eve of the annual Puerto Rican Day parade.

The unbeaten Puerto Rican sensation, Zayas (13-0, 9 KOs) was set to face Uzbekistan’s Ravshan Hudaynazarov (19–5, 14KOs) in the co-main event of the ESPN-televised card at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York City, but the 19-year-old will not make the walk to the ring as he had contracted a contagious viral infection — though it is not related to Covid-19.

In his statement provided by his promotion, Top Rank, the 19-year-old expressed his disappointment for not being able to make it into the event and vows to come back stronger when fully healthy.

“I am sorry to announce that I was forced to pull out of my fight on June 11,” Zayas said. “I have done my best to get well, however, my condition got worse over the past few days. As

much as I love this sport and wanted to put on a show at Madison Square Garden for the fans, my health comes first.”

With Zayas removed from the event, the rest of the card goes on as planned, with the fellow Boricua, Henry Lebron (15-0, 10KOs) filling the co-main event slot. He will face Luis Lebron (18-3-1, 11KOs) in a regional title fight scheduled for eight rounds.

In the main event of the evening, unbeaten super middleweight and local box office attraction Edgar Berlanga (19-0, 16KOs) will be looking to put on another dominant performance in front of his home crowd as he clashes with former title challenger Alexis Angulo (27-2, 23KOs) in a scheduled 10-round bout.

Zayas made his MSG debut last December when he dismantled Alessio Mastronunzio in the very first round to take his tally of wins to 12 with, of course, no losses on that record.

And just three months later, Zayas again returned to “The World’s Most Famous Arena” only to outpoint his opponent on the night, Quincy LaVallais displaying his diversity as a super welterweight.

Zayas desperately wanted to appear on this card, which would have marked his first on a weekend dedicated to Puerto Rican culture.

But due to unforeseen circumstances, the Puerto Rican will have to wait another year to get his wish fulfilled.

“My team and I had to make the difficult decision to postpone this fight,” Zayas added. “I want to thank everyone for all the support and love. I will be back soon.”