Opinions and Observations: Zayas-Ennis

Machismo is a real thing. In a fight where both boxers had a range of choices, Xander Zayas and Jaron "Boots" Ennis decided to slug it out at close range. Zayas had excelled as an outside fighter throughout his career, using his hand speed, legs, and natural boxing ability to win almost all of his bouts comfortably. Yet, he was determined to walk down Ennis in the first round. Boots had the legs to evade Zayas, but he wanted to stay in the pocket.  

In the first round, Boots dropped Zayas with a fast combination out of the southpaw stance and subsequently hurt him throughout the rest of the round. But did Zayas start boxing and moving in the second round?  

He did not. 

Maybe it was the bright lights of Barclays Center in Brooklyn or a horrendous miscalculation by trainer Javiel Centeno, but by the end of the first round, it was clear that Ennis had distinct advantages at close range, especially with his abilities to throw in combination and employ a larger punch arsenal.  

Boots scoring one of his three knockdowns in the fight
Photo courtesy of Cris Esqueda/Matchroom

The third round featured a heroic stand from Zayas. Although he was getting hit a lot, he landed a number of memorable right hands and was able to buzz Ennis.  

But as I was watching Ennis dig to the body in the fourth with quick combinations at close range, I remembered what I had heard about his gym in Philly. The ring wars in "Bozy's Dungeon" are legendary (Bozy is Boots' father and trainer). 

Boots, who fought Xander for two belts at junior middleweight on Saturday, routinely has sparred super middleweights and light heavyweights, and not for technical sparring or just getting work in. Bozy's gym culture is designed so that Boots not only survives in heavy fire situations but thrives in them.  

Last year I was speaking with a senior Pennsylvania boxing official who witnessed Boots destroy a 175-lb.er in sparring. This was prior to Boots' 2025 fight against Uisma Lima. The guy said, "I don't care what Lima has. He has no chance." Boots won in the first round.  

Zayas did have moments against Boots, but ultimately, close combat shouldn't have been his approach. He was outgunned and didn't realize it. In the fifth Boots leveled him with a perfect right uppercut during an exchange. In the seventh Boots scored a third knockdown with a furious combination with Zayas trapped along the ropes. The corner threw in the towel after that third knockdown.  

I believe that Ennis finally revealed himself during this fight. In past fights Ennis has shown that he could do a lot of different things. He could track down a fighter, beat up an opponent with either hand, flash blinding hand speed, and throw with fierce combinations.  

Against Zayas, Boots had several ways to win the fight. But he was more interested in fighting than boxing. After getting tagged in the third, he could have recalibrated and taken a different approach. But he was determined to match fire with fire. He wanted that fight. And despite getting hit a fair amount, he had confidence in his chin that he could survive whatever was coming his way while Zayas could not.  

It was an electrifying performance from Boots that thrilled the large crowd in Brooklyn. He had won a mano-a-mano battle and stamped his name into boxing's consciousness. 

But there is still another level for Ennis to ascend to. When he realizes that he doesn't have to go to war to win a fight like Saturday's, he will have taken a significant step forward. Ennis lingers too long in the pocket. He gets hit by too many clean shots. A fight like Saturday's could be a career shortener.  

In particular what I'm looking for is Ennis' ability to manage a fight. He is always pressing the pedal down full throttle. He doesn't seem interested in a fight lasting 12 rounds. He won't take moments off in a fight let alone rounds. He won't concede anything to an opponent. If he gets hit, he comes right back firing. And while that sentiment is terrifically fan friendly, it also leads to him making risky choices that are frankly unnecessary.  

It wouldn't have hurt Boots in the grand scheme of Saturday's fight to take a walk around the ring after getting hit hard in the third round, to slow the pace down. Yes, he would have conceded the round, but instead he took a series of even harder shots to try to win everything back immediately.  

Boots still fights with an arrogance where he gets upset when he gets tagged, that getting hit is beneath him. Yet he does get hit cleanly, powerfully, fight after fight. After Saturday's bout he blamed the third round on "him being lazy." He rarely credits the opponent; Boots somehow allowed himself to get hit. 

If Boots gets to a level where he respects his opponents and his own ring mortality a little more, then he potentially could reach the top of the mountain in boxing. But he still fights as if he's the big man in the gym, taking on all comers, willing to risk everything at any moment to prove just how tough he is.  

Maybe Boots can transition into a working smarter not harder phase of his career. The body can only take so much before it starts to rebel.  

Perhaps years from now Boots and Zayas will reflect on their war and the joy they provided to the boxing community. But maybe other thoughts might seep in. They might also have a chuckle and acknowledge that youth so often is wasted on the young.  

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Panel, the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

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Tim Bradley's Time

Tim Bradley had a great night on Friday. The ESPN commentator and former world champ provided a clinic in how a sharp boxing analyst can enlighten a broadcast. At the top of the show, Bradley pulled no punches when it came to discussing Oscar Valdez's failed PED test. In an emotional monologue, Bradley was adamant in how allowing Valdez to continue to fight despite the failed test helped erode the credibility of boxing and he condemned the powers that be in their failure to regulate the sport properly.  

And this theme was repeated throughout the extraordinary broadcast. Far too often we see boxing commentators and networks gently push unpleasantries aside. How often do we hear announcers nebulously refer to damaging behavior as "out-of-the ring difficulties" and just leave it at that, a mere footnote before the action commences? But ESPN and Bradley in particular went all in. Bradley didn't allow Valdez any wiggle room. To him a fighter was responsible for any substance he or she may use or ingest. And for proponents of a clean sport, Bradley was singing the perfect tune. 

ESPN Boxing Analyst Tim Bradley
Photo Courtesy of ESPN

Friday's broadcast was unusual in another aspect: ESPN was biting the hand that feeds it. ESPN has an exclusive contract with Top Rank to provide boxing content. And yet it was Top Rank that helped lead the charge to clear Valdez. However, Bradley, Andre Ward and Bernardo Osuna didn't succumb to those political considerations. In their mind, a wrong was committed, an egregious one, and it was more important to them to draw a line in the sand and stake a position on the clean side of the drug testing issue than to play nice with their corporate partners. 

In short, ESPN's commentators were being advocates for the sport, a position that HBO often held during its heyday, as well as former ESPN boxing analyst Teddy Atlas. To the ESPN broadcast crew, boxing's health and legitimacy were far more important than the transactional nature of broadcasting an Oscar Valdez fight or towing the Valdez/Top Rank company line for the reason for the failed drug test. It was refreshing to say the least. 

But it wasn't just the drug issue where Bradley shined on Friday. Throughout the broadcast he provided incisive commentary. During Gabe Flores' bout, where the young prospect was dismantled by Luis Alberto Lopez, Bradley shed light on a personality issue of Flores' that was contributing to his difficulty during the fight. Bradley relayed that he had asked Flores in Thursday's fighter meeting if he was going to work on keeping his left hand up more. To which, in Bradley's telling, Flores responded that he's going to be himself in the ring. In that answer from Flores, there was a hint of stubbornness, a refusal to examine criticism. After the fight, Flores, beaten up and demoralized, blamed himself for the loss saying that his dad provided him with the right instruction in the corner, but he had refused to listen. 

Bradley also pointed out additional aspects of Flores' style that he had failed to develop in his young career. While Flores maintained that he was getting more comfortable holding his feet and fighting on the inside, Bradley astutely pointed out that Flores resorted to backing up against the pressure fighter repeatedly, which invited even more aggression from Lopez. 

In the Xander Zayas fight, where the undefeated prospect was facing the toughest test of his young career against Jose Luis Sanchez, Bradley immediately saw that Sanchez could have success with his right hand over the top because of Xander's poor glove positioning with his left hand. And although Sanchez didn't win the fight, he repeatedly landed those right hands throughout the contest. It was a gut check fight for Zayas and he came through it well, but Bradley and Ward didn't act as a Greek Chorus marveling at the young fighter, as many broadcasters do. The commentators saw real issues and pointed them out. The final scores of the bout, which were a shutout for Zayas, didn't convey the competitiveness of the fight or the issues that Zayas still has to address. And it wasn't all negative. Bradley praised Zayas' skills, power and heart at points in the fight, but it was mixed with the type of reality check that he often gives as part of his commentary. 

The main event between Oscar Valdez and Robson Conceicao saw all three judges and the ESPN crew having Valdez at the victor, but many scoring at home thought that Conceicao had done enough to win. After a fast start from Conceicao, Valdez had more success in the back half of the fight. And as the rounds progressed, the number of authoritative punches from Conceicao started to drop. Yet Conceicao was dancing in the ring, holding his arms up, showboating. Bradley and Ward correctly pointed out that the judges may not respond well to that kind of display when the fighter isn't doing enough offensively to warrant it. There can be room for showboating in boxing, but it only works when one fighter is dominating the other. For Conceicao, he was playing with his food too much instead of putting more punches together, the kinds that can sway judges. 

It was no surprise to Bradley and Ward that the judges scored it for Valdez. And whether you agree with Bradley on who should have won the fight, the fact that he and his team pointed out that professional judges might not take kindly to a fighter (especially a challenger) who engages in those antics, and they were proven correct, is a point in their favor. They were right about how this behavior in the ring would be perceived, and that is what an astute analyst does – illuminate the action at hand. 

Tim Bradley is still growing into his role as a boxing commentator. Sometimes he can be overly negative on young fighters, wanting them to do things that are beyond their capabilities. Other times he, and his team at ESPN, can engage in too much hyping of a network favorite son. 

But he sees the action well. He's not afraid to be bold and he wants to matter in his position. Bradley understands that he has an ability to affect the sport and how it's perceived, and he takes that responsibility seriously. His performance of Friday was another sign that he possesses special qualities. I hope he continues to be bold and incisive. The sport has enough empty suits. 

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com.

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