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Miguel Cotto, Felix Trinidad, Wilfred Benitez: Can Xander Zayas be Puerto Rico's next superstar?
Xander Zayas, the young Puerto Rican, is hoping to write his name into the history books next to other Puerto Rican greats by claiming the WBO super welterweight title against Jorge Garcia Perez on Saturday.
Puerto Rico is a proud boxing nation. It has produced some of the greatest and most fearsome champions the sport has ever seen.
At only 22, Zayas has more than enough time to become another of these great champions from the island. But whose footsteps is he following in, and what does he have to achieve to get there?
Who are the great Puerto Ricans?
Miguel Cotto
In the modern era, Miguel Cotto will be the first name to come out of almost anyone’s mouth when you ask them who some of the best Puerto Rican boxers of all time are.
Cotto was a bullish fighter with an impressive ring IQ and an all-action style.
Across a 16-year career, the Puerto Rican accumulated a record of 41-6 (33) and won world titles in four weight classes from super lightweight to middleweight.
He claimed career best victories over Zab Judah, Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley, while also sharing the ring with some of the best fighters of his generation, including Floyd Mayweather Jr, Canelo Alvarez and Manny Pacquiao.
(Getty Images)
Felix Trinidad
Felix Trinidad was an immensely durable and powerful fighter with a devastating left hook. But he also had subtle defensive skills that made him an incredibly well-rounded fighter.
On his way to curating a record of 42-3 (35), Trinidad became a three-weight world champion and won his first title only three years after his professional debut.
Trinidad did not lose a fight until towards the end of his career when Bernard Hopkins stopped him in the 12th round of their middleweight unification bout.
He ended his career with a loss to Roy Jones Jr, but was victorious over the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Hector Camacho and Pernell Whittaker and never lost a fight below middleweight.
Focus on Sport/Getty Images
Wilfred Benitez
Benitez is immortalised in the annals of Puerto Rican and world boxing as the youngest fighter to ever win a world title.
At only 17 years old, Benitez claimed a split decision victory over the much more experienced Antonio Cervantes to become the WBA super lightweight champion.
Undefeated in 39 fights, Benitez suffered his first loss to Sugar Ray Leonard while defending his WBC welterweight world title.
A move up to 154lbs was fruitful for Benitez – he won a world title by beating Maurice Hope and defended his title against one quarter of the ‘Four Kings’, Roberto Duran.
After a mixed end to his career, Benitez retired in 1990 with a record of 53-8 (32), as a three-division champion and often overlooked due to the talent in his era.
Wilfredo GomezHerb Scharfman/Sports Imagery/Getty Images
Wilfredo Gomez is widely regarded as one of, if not the greatest, super bantamweight of all time and one of the heaviest hitters the division has ever seen.
After a draw in his professional debut, Gomez went on to win all of his next 32 fights by knockout – and over half of these knockouts were in world title fights.
He became the WBC super bantamweight champion in 1977, beating Dong Kyun Yum and would defend the title 16 times before moving up to featherweight and suffering his first defeat by Salvador Sanchez.
Gomez would continue on and claim world titles at featherweight and super featherweight towards the end of his career with a record of 44-3-1 (42) and had bragging rights over some of Mexico’s great champions, such as Carlos Zarate and Lupe Pintor.
What can Zayas do to join these ranks?
Claiming his first world title at just 22 years old is a great place to start on the journey to becoming Puerto Rico’s next boxing superstar, as it would make him the youngest active world champion in the sport, overtaking Brian Norman Jr in the welterweight division.
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Undisputed
If he manages to claim the WBO super welterweight title, then unifying the division and becoming the undisputed 154lbs champion would set Zayas apart as an all-time great.
Puerto Rico has only had one undisputed champion in the four-belt era, Amando Serrano, who achieved this in 2023.
With the current state of the division, unification is certainly on the cards. Sebastian Fundora just defended his WBC title in a rematch with Tim Tszyu, and to make the fight, Fundora had to vacate his WBO belt.
If Fundora wants to get his title back, he will, in a perfect world, have to fight Zayas. The Puerto Rican gladly welcomes this opportunity.
Zayas said: "Maybe down the line, we can still meet and I get that shot at my second world title. He [Fundora] said in the past he wanted to fight another champion. Hopefully after [Saturday], that other champion is me."
The remaining titles are with Bakhram Murtazaliev , who holds the IBF strap, and Terence Crawford, who has the WBA version.
With Crawford now at 168lbs ahead of his undisputed super middleweight clash with Canelo Alvarez, it is expected that he will be asked to vacate his belt sooner rather than later to keep the division active.
Multi-division championTop Rank
If Zayas were against waiting around for the super welterweight division to become mobile again, then he could follow in the footsteps of the greats before him and pursue becoming a multiple weight world champion.
Standing at 5’10”, Zayas is a large super welterweight - with youth on his side and the right training, he will be able to naturally fill out and fight comfortably between 154lbs and 168lbs.
We have seen great fighters like Canelo Alvarez do the same.
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