On January 31st, the Coliseo José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico will play host to a junior middleweight unification bout between WBA champion Abass Baraou and WBO champion Xander Zayas. Baraou will be on hostile soil as the German champion will be making the first defense of his WBA belt against a popular and unbeaten Puerto Rican. Baraou captured the WBA title in 2025 with a unanimous decision victory over Cuba’s Yoenis Téllez, a win that also handed Téllez the first loss of his professional career. The only blemish on Baraou’s record came back in 2020, when he dropped a close split decision to Jack Culcay. Since then, he has put together an eight-fight winning streak, capped by the triumph that earned him his first world title at the Caribe Royale in Orlando.

 

Across the ring will be Zayas, undefeated in 22 professional fights, all victories, with 13 coming by way of knockout. Widely regarded as one of the top talents in the division, Zayas fought twice in 2025, scoring a knockout over Slawa Spomer and a unanimous decision win against Jorge García Pérez for the vacant WBO belt. Against Baraou, he will be making the first defense of his WBO title while aiming to unify the belts. Fighting in Puerto Rico gives Zayas an edge, bolstered by the energy of a home crowd. He also brings considerable experience on major cards, most of them staged at Madison Square Garden in New York. Baraou, meanwhile, is determined to prove that his 2025 WBA title run was no fluke and that he belongs at the very top of the super welterweight division.