Damian Sosa vs Xander Zayas Preview September 27th, 2024
Unbeaten prospect Xander Zayas of Puerto Rico is set to battle Mexico’s Damian Sosa this Friday, September 27th in a 10-round Junior Middleweight bout. The fight from the Theater at New York City’s Madison Square Garden can be seen on the ESPN platform in America, on TSN + in Canada and on Sky Sports Main Event in the UK and Ireland. Zayas last fought in June when he beat former world champion Patrick Teixeira by a 10-round unanimous decision to defend his NABA, and WBO NABO Super Welterweight Belts. Sosa edged Marques Valle by a 10-round split decision in April in his last outing.
Sosa vs Zayas Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Damian Sosa +800
- Xander Zayas -1500
My Pick
The 27-year-old Sosa climbs through the ropes with a mark of 25-2 with 12 Ko’s and has 169 rounds of experience under his belt since making his pro debut back in 2016. He stands 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 71.5-inch reach and has average power in his punches as 48 and he’s gone the distance in five of his last six fights. His first defeat came at the hands of Artem Oganesyan in 2019 when he dropped a 10-round unanimous decision in a shot at the vacant WBO Youth Super Welterweight Title.
The second loss on Sosa’s record came to Ivan Alvarez by way of a 10-round unanimous decision in April, 2023. Sosa beat Abel Mina by 10-round split decision in 2021 for the vacant WBO Latino Super Welterweight Title and defended it the next year with a third-round KO over Jesus Vega Villaman. Sosa also has wins over Dante Jardon, Juan Ruiz, Ronald Cruz, Clay Collard and Israel Ornelas.
Zayas fights out of Sunrise, Florida and is just 22 years old. He’s boxed 81 rounds since making his pro debut in 2019 following his amateur career and carries around a perfect mark of 19-0 with 12 Ko’s which gives him a current knockout ratio of 63.2 per cent. He’s stopped five of his last 10 opponents and two of the last three. Zayas measures in at at 5-feet-10-inches tall with a 74-inch reach which sees him enter the ring with an inch height advantage over Sosa as well as a 2.5-inch edge in reach.
As an amateur Zayas had over 130 fights from 2007 to 2018 and captured 11 national championship events including the 2018 U.S. Youth National Championships. He won the vacant WBO NABO Super Welterweight Title in August, 2022 when he stopped Elias Espadas in the fifth round after dropping him in the opening stanza. Zayas then added the vacant NABF Title four months later with an eight-round unanimous decision over Alexis Salazar Flores. He defended both belts against Ronald Cruz, Roberto Valenzuela, Jorge Fortea and Patrick Teixeira.
Prediction…
Sosa is a solid but unspectacular boxer with a good chin while Zayas is on his way up the rankings and is expected to someday become a world champion. He took a step up in class in June with his win over Teixeira and passed the test and should be able to get past Sosa as long as he’s prepared to work for it.
Zayas is a skilled boxer and is a class above Sosa at this point.
Play: Zayas -1500 @ BetOnline.ag
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Damian Sosa betting • Xander Zayas betting