Xander Zayas is growing. His face looms on screen these days with a stern, squinty eyed stoicism. The junior middleweight is 21 and speaks more boldly than he previously has. He talks about sending his opponents to hell.

He had a float to get on Sunday morning for New York’s Puerto Rican Day Parade. He first had to raise his stature by getting through former WBO junior middleweight titlist, 33-year-old Patrick Teixeira.

For the first time in his young career, Zayas went 10 rounds, winning a dominating unanimous decision by scores of 100-90 on two scorecards and 99-91 on the other.

Zayas (19-0, 12 knockouts) had more problems getting untangled from a drooping postfight TV cord in the ring than he did beating the courageous, though terribly outgunned Teixeira (34-5, 25 KOs) on Saturday night at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in Top Rank’s show on ESPN.

“Since I was five years I’ve been dreaming about this, and it is happening,” Zayas said. “(Teixeira) was tough, obviously knowing that he was a veteran, he knew how to survive in there. It was sometimes difficult to find the body, but with the experience, he hid it. I was trying to land the hook, and he was ducking underneath.

“I felt it was a tough test, but I passed it with flying colors. Like everyone at Top Rank tells me, before you go 12, you have to go 10. I did it today. I graduated. Those were the rounds I needed. I’m ready for whatever they throw at me now. I have to work on that angle to the lefty, getting to the outside, working the body. I felt my distance was key today.”

Zayas looked relaxed in the opening round against the first southpaw he has ever faced. He patiently poked and prodded, and in the second, he opened up more. He varied his levels and countered very well. With 7 seconds left in the round, Zayas popped Teixeira with a left hook to the head, which Teixeira responded with a body shot.

Through two rounds, Zayas connected on 14 body shots on the 33-year-old who has faced his share of wars.

Teixeira did tap Zayas with a one-two to the head midway through the third. Zayas kept chopping at the body. With 55 seconds left in the round, he landed a right uppercut, followed by a left. Thirty seconds later, Zayas dug down with a right on Teixeira’s waistline.

Through three, Zayas owned a 61-13 connect advantage.

With 2:14 left in the fourth, Zayas’ blue gumshield bore through as he smiled, wading in on the retreating Teixeira. At the end of the round, the two tapped gloves in a show of respect. But it was apparent that Zayas was in firm control and patient.

Zayas started the fifth by working up and down through Teixeira’s high guard. He made Teixeira look older than he is. With 1:20 left in the fifth, Teixeira did hit Zayas with a right to Zayas’ side. For a second, it looked as if Zayas’ left arm dropped down. Teixeira was doing very little, other than staying upright and throwing an occasional punch.

Otherwise, the veteran was in survival mode.

With 2:00 left in the sixth, Zayas cleaved Teixeira’s guard with a right. He missed with a right uppercut, but Teixeira had little energy to counter it.

In the eighth, Zayas stepped on the gas. With 1:56 left in the round, he plowed Teixeira with a left-right combo to the face and was on him. Zayas connected with another left, and stalked Teixeira, hitting with a right uppercut, with 1:41 left, and then went to the body. A straight right snapped Teixeira’s head back. Teixeira tried to keep Zayas off him, though could not.

With 22 seconds left, Zayas landed a combination, and closed the round with a left hook.

The ringside doctors took a look at Teixeira after the eighth. But they allowed Teixeira out for another round.

In the opening minute of the ninth, Zayas smothered Teixeira with a barrage of punches. Teixeira did not do anything. Blood began leaking down the left eye of Teixeira. With 54 seconds left in the round, Zayas plowed him with a straight right.

In the first 15 seconds of the 10th, Zayas was using Teixeira as a punching bag, pinning up against the ropes. He was loading up on his shots. With 1:25 remaining in the fight, Zayas nailed Teixeira with a straight right. He was shaking his head as Zayas was hitting him.

“I’ve been saying it, Josh Kelly. (Top Rank) also just signed Vito Mielnicki, a good friend of mine, but he’s 154 pounds and he’s form Jersey,” Zayas said. “It’s a fight we can make happen in the future.”

Shu Shu Carrington makes easy work out of late sub Brayan De Gracia

In the co-feature, Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington stopped the very game late-replacement Brayan “La Roca” De Gracia (29-4-1, 25 KOs) in the eighth round.

“There are some things I could have done more, there are some things I could have done better on the defensive end, but he is a tough opponent,” Carrington said. “I am super happy that Brayan had come in and took the fight on last-minute notice. He came to fight. He is really strong. His knockout ratio showed the power is there. But you know me, I have a lot of experience to know how get around that, hurt my opponent and do what I do.

Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington smashes late-replacement Brayan “La Roca” De Gracia with a right (Photo by Mikey WIlliams/Top Rank)

“That’s how we got the victory. He had a lot of will.”

Carrington (12-0, 8 KOs) patiently whittled down De Gracia, dropping him a series of blows with 49 seconds left in the fifth, which De Gracia got back up from. To his credit, De Gracia kept trying, knowing he could not withstand the power and ability of Carrington.

In the seventh, feeling so confident, Carrington switched to a southpaw stance and put De Gracia down a second time with a right with 12 seconds left in the round. De Gracia survived the round, though it seemed the end was nearing.

With referee Eric Dali looking in closely, the fight was finally stopped at 2:56 of the eighth.

With undisputed featherweight world champion Naoya Inoue seated ringside, in New York to receive the Ring Magazine and BWAA Fighter of the Year awards, Carrington wanted to put on a show.

Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington is looking for Naoyo Inoue (Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank)

“It is interesting (Inoue) is here and he came to watch, and he is leaving right now, so he obviously came to watch me,” Carrington said. “I am ringing bells and making noise. That is what we plan on continue doing throughout our career. I want to definitely make that fight happen time soon.”

On the undercard, junior welterweight Tiger Johnson (13-0, 6 KOs) won an eight-round decision over Tarik Zaina (13-2-1, 8 KOs), flyweight Andy Dominguez (11-1, 6 KOs) won an eight-round majority decision over Cristopher Rios (10-2, 7 KOs), and middleweight Jahi Tucker (11-1-1, 5 KOs) won an eight-round unanimous decision over Quincy LaVallais (17-5-1, 12 KOs) in Tucker’s middleweight debut.

In other undercard decisions, junior lightweight Ofacio Falcon (12-0, 6 KOs), won a six-round unanimous decision over Antonio Dunton El Jr. (5-3-2, 2 KOs), heavyweight Ali Feliz (2-0, 2 KOs) stopped Lemir Isom-Riley (4-3, 2 KOs) at 1:25 of the first round and super middleweight Nisa Rodriguez (2-0) won a four-round decision over Jordanne Garcia (4-4-3).

Joseph Santoliquito is a Hall of Fame, award-winning sportswriter who has been working for Ring Magazine/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Follow @JSantoliquito

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