Toward the end of the seventh round, a smile creased Xander Zayas’ face during his 10-round junior middleweight bout with Damian Sosa Friday night at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Xander Zayas systematically broke down Damian Sosa in a 10-round unanimous decision (Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank)

Zayas knew what he was doing, and he was doing it well, going to the body and breaking down Sosa on the Mikaela Mayer-Sandy Ryan undercard.

In what was his best performance so far as a pro, Zayas (20-0, 13 knockouts) chalked up the best win of his career, with a 10-round unanimous decision over Sosa (25-3, 12 KOs).

Zayas won by 100-90 shutout scores from all three judges.

Zayas established his jab early on, mixing his levels well, from the head to the body. He gradually worked his way from a steady jab, into working in combinations and showed great patience in systematically breaking down Sosa.

He was defensively responsible, weaving under and stepping around Sosa attacks. He did everything but stop the rugged Sosa.

Punch stats bear out Zayas’ dominance; He landed 148 of 336 total punches thrown (44%), which included 74 body connects to Sosa’s meager 42 total connections out of 272 total punches thrown (15%) and just two body connects.

Zayas landed double-digit connects in every round. His lowest output was the first round, when he connected on 14 punches. Otherwise, it was an all-out assault on veteran Sosa.

Entering the fight, Sosa had thrown an average of 84 punches a round.

Zayas’ defense and constant pressure rendered a very aggressive fighter amenable, constantly forcing Sosa to be on the defensive. He threw an average of almost 30 punches a round per round less than his usual.

“I just told (Sosa) he pushed me and elevated me to the next level,” Zayas said. “Now, I feel like I’m ready (for a title shot). Before, I felt like I was ready. Now, I let everybody know I’m ready for some names.

“They said (Sosa) threw 84 punches per round. I did not see that today. I did my job. Now I have to be calm and relax and see what the company wants. I want whoever is in the top five.”

Fighting off his back foot, Zayas, 22, was steady at the outset, using his jab to create openings. Sosa, 27, was unable to mount any offense, being backed up by the faster, younger opponent.

Zayas controlled the range and distance. Sosa allowed Zayas to set his feet and land combinations. By the third, sensing he was quickly losing ground, Sosa tried coming forward. His aggression was met by a Zayas’ left hook. In the first minute of the third, Zayas changed levels, landing a left to the body and the head.

Sosa found out once he neared Zayas’ striking zone, he would pay a price.

By the fifth, the fight grew into a pattern that Sosa could not break. Zayas comported himself well, staying comfortably in the pocket, ducking under Sosa’s offering, and countering with left hooks and uppercuts.

In the latter rounds, Zayas dished out more of the same.

The young Puetro Rican says his time is now for a title shot.

He may be right.

Joseph Santoliquito is an 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 [twitter.com]

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