Jaron Ennis vs. Xander Zayas | DAZN - June 27, 2026

[MPW]

Andreas Hale reports today and ESPN confirms that Ennis and Zayas will fight June 27 at the Barclays Center for Zayas' WBO and WBA titles. The fight will be a DAZN PPV from Matchroom Boxing in association with Top Rank.

[Ruthless-RKO]

PPV??

[MPW]

Andreas Hale
Mar 30, 2026, 11:30 AM ET

Unified junior middleweight champion Xander Zayas (23-0, 13 KOs) will put his WBA and WBO titles on the line against Jaron "Boots" Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs and 1 No Contest) on June 27 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, ESPN confirmed on Monday.

The fight will be live and exclusive on DAZN PPV from Matchroom Boxing in association with Top Rank. Top Rank recently signed a multiyear, multifight broadcasting deal with DAZN.

Ennis was in discussions for a highly anticipated fight with Vergil Ortiz Jr. However, Ortiz Jr.'s manager, Rick Mirigian, was not pleased with the purse offered to his fighter and it caused a highly publicized rift with his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions. Ortiz sued Golden Boy Promotions, seeking his release, and sought to make the fight with Ennis without the involvement of his promoter. In turn, Golden Boy Promotions filed and was granted a temporary restraining order against Ortiz, preventing him from entering negotiations with any third party and leaving his future in limbo.

Ennis' promoter, Matchroom Boxing, sought alternatives for their fighter and with Top Rank signing a broadcast deal with DAZN, a fight with Ortiz was much easier to negotiate with both promoters under one network umbrella.

"What a fight!" said Ennis' promoter and Matchroom Chairman, Eddie Hearn, in a statement. "I'm thrilled to be able to get this fight made for Jaron -- this is exactly the kind of occasion that brings the very best out of a future pound-for-pound #1. Boots shone so brightly against Stanionis in Atlantic City in his first unification fight, and I expect him to light up Brooklyn on June 27.

"But Xander is a special fighter in his own right, and huge props go to him for wanting to fight the very best -- Brooklyn has a special fight on its hands this summer, and I am counting down the days already."


Ennis, 28, made his debut at 154 pounds last October with a first-round stoppage of Uisma Lima. The Philadelphia fighter was previously a unified welterweight champion and now aims to become a titleholder in a second weight class.

"Time to step and collect these belts!" Ennis said. "Knocking them down one by one! #AndTheNew."

Puerto Rico's Xayas, 23, won the vacant WBO title last July by defeating Jorge Garcia Perez and added the WBA title with a unanimous decision over Abass Baraou in January. A week after defeating Baraou, Zayas made a cameo appearance during Bad Bunny's Super Bowl LX halftime performance. Zayas is signed to Bad Bunny's sports agency, Rimas Sports.

"Long before I became a world champion, I always sought to face the biggest challenges in my division," Zayas said in a statement. "I have never shied away from a fight and have always been willing to test my skills against anyone. Now, as the unified champion, I am ready to defend my world titles against one of the sport's biggest names. I have always believed in myself, and on June 27, I will continue to show the world what is possible when you dare to be great!"

[Ruthless-RKO]

That’s crazy. Unless it’s part of the DAZN ultimate package.. or standalone PPV.

Madness!

[gilgamesh]

That’s crazy. Unless it’s part of the DAZN ultimate package.. or standalone PPV.

Madness!

Any and All of the PPV's are part of the Ultimate Package I'm pretty sure. I could be wrong on that, if they expect people to go outside the package to pay for Ennis vs Zayas they gotta be smoking crack or something.

[Ruthless-RKO]

That’s crazy. Unless it’s part of the DAZN ultimate package.. or standalone PPV.

Madness!

Any and All of the PPV's are part of the Ultimate Package I'm pretty sure. I could be wrong on that, if they expect people to go outside the package to pay for Ennis vs Zayas they gotta be smoking crack or something.

Ah. It’s only if you have standard DAZN, then you gotta purchase it as a separate PPV.

Unless you actually have DAZN ultimate, then you get the ppv’s regardless?

Gotcha

[Sendo Takeshi]

Vergil punching air right now.
The winner should fight Fundora. If Fundora actually gonna fight Mell Charlo after that and winner of Tszyu/Spence after that, strip him.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[goose 5]

I was hoping for Zayas-Fundora. Ennis will ruin Zayas.

[Taansend]

I saw Zayas early doors & thought he was maybe too much hype due to being a good looking chap plus the East Coast/Puerto Rican angle but he's been chipping away & is taking the fights so fair play to him.

Has he been hurt or knocked down yet?

[Evander]

Why are they potentially sacrificing Zayas this easily considering his age and potential.
Ennis has multiple options
Why put them together ?
It's not a good move for either of them

[Cent0089]

Why are they potentially sacrificing Zayas this easily considering his age and potential.
Ennis has multiple options
Why put them together ?
It's not a good move for either of them

What? for how long should they protect their 0? Wanna be the best? fight the best. Win and become the best or lose and learn from that. It is all what boxing should be about.

[gilgamesh]

Why are they potentially sacrificing Zayas this easily considering his age and potential.
Ennis has multiple options
Why put them together ?
It's not a good move for either of them

Everybody sitting around waiting to become a star is the reason why the sport has so few stars. In Boxing you become somebody by beating somebody. There is no other way.

[Evander]

Why are they potentially sacrificing Zayas this easily considering his age and potential.
Ennis has multiple options
Why put them together ?
It's not a good move for either of them

What? for how long should they protect their 0? Wanna be the best? fight the best. Win and become the best or lose and learn from that. It is all what boxing should be about.

You got me

[Ruthless-RKO]

Why are they potentially sacrificing Zayas this easily considering his age and potential.
Ennis has multiple options
Why put them together ?
It's not a good move for either of them

What? for how long should they protect their 0? Wanna be the best? fight the best. Win and become the best or lose and learn from that. It is all what boxing should be about.

That’s exactly what’s wrong with boxing these days.

These are the fights we want and need.

If your ‘0’ goes early then you don’t have it to lose anymore and you tend to take more risks.

[MPW]

Why are they potentially sacrificing Zayas this easily considering his age and potential.
Ennis has multiple options
Why put them together ?
It's not a good move for either of them

What? for how long should they protect their 0? Wanna be the best? fight the best. Win and become the best or lose and learn from that. It is all what boxing should be about.

That’s exactly what’s wrong with boxing these days.

These are the fights we want and need.

If your ‘0’ goes early then you don’t have it to lose anymore and you tend to take more risks.

Win, lose, or draw, I applaud Zayas for this bout. He could have played it safe and milked title defense after title defense while protecting the "0". Instead, he's challenging himself against a fighter who is among the top - some would say the top - in the division.

While I think Ennis will win, that outcome is hardly a sure thing. So, he, too, should be commended for taking the fight and the risk.

Personally, I think boxing needs more fights like this, rather than letting them marinate beyond their use-by dates or pushing mismatches masquerading as premier bouts.

[gilgamesh]

It definitely does need more fights like this, because up until about a month ago if you had asked me about Xander Zayas my response would've been "Who the f*ck is Xander Zayas?"

And I'm a Boxing fan. Fighting big fights is what makes you matter. Not having an unbeaten record.

[Cent0089]

Why are they potentially sacrificing Zayas this easily considering his age and potential.
Ennis has multiple options
Why put them together ?
It's not a good move for either of them

What? for how long should they protect their 0? Wanna be the best? fight the best. Win and become the best or lose and learn from that. It is all what boxing should be about.

You got me

It will be a good fight

[victor-romeo]

I look forward to this fight...

[Evander]

Zayas can't box properly

[Evander]

Ortiz Jr v Zayas
Lean Ortiz Jr

[Evander]

Like to see Gervonta do a one over on Shakur

[Ruthless-RKO]

[gilgamesh]

Jesse Hart, Lawrence King, Dante Benjamin, Samuel Arnold.

All American Light Heavyweights who are rated below Whitaker, but are still in the Top 30 so would be reasonable challenges for where he's at.

Benjamin and Arnold are unbeaten.

If you wanna stretch that to the Top 50 you could include Deon Nicholson and Antwan Jones.

[Ruthless-RKO]

‘If he wins, he’s a megastar’: Paulie Malignaggi says Xander Zayas has chance to break through with win over Boots Ennis

Xander Zayas will enter the ring as a champion but is expected to have a tough test in Boots Ennis.



Boxing analyst Paulie Malignaggi gives his impression of the recently announced junior middleweight title fight between Xander Zayas and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis. Malignaggi admits his surprise that Zayas’ team were so willing to throw him into this fight at such a young age, but says with the big risk comes a big reward should Zayas come through.

“I’m surprised they put in Zayas that early,” Malignaggi said. “Xander will fight anybody, he’s that kind of fighter. Super marketable fighter, so that’s why I was surprised they’ve taken this chance with him a little early. If he wins, he’s a megastar. Ennis is one of the best fighters in the sport today. This is a fight both of them need, but I think Ennis needed it more because he’s a little older. With Zayas, you have time to wait on this kind of risk.

“So credit to both guys for making it, credit to DAZN for making it, for getting all these promoters together and making these big fights. This is an exciting fight for the reason that at this point it serves Ennis better. In two years it would have served Zayas better. So, we’ll see if Zayas can pull this off because he becomes a major, major star if he does.”

Zayas defends his WBO world title against Boots on June 27, streaming live on DAZN PPV.