---
title: "Ennis stops Zayas to seize the junior-middleweight titles in Brooklyn"
description: "Jaron 'Boots' Ennis dropped Xander Zayas three times and forced a seventh-round stoppage at Barclays Center, taking the WBO and WBA junior-middleweight world titles, handing the unbeaten Puerto Rican his first professional defeat and becoming a world champion in a second weight class."
category: "Sports"
category_url: https://newsparlor.com/category/sports
author: "Maya Coleman"
published: 2026-06-28T05:05:00.000Z
updated: 2026-06-28T05:05:00.000Z
canonical: https://newsparlor.com/article/ennis-stops-zayas-junior-middleweight-titles
tags: ["boxing", "jaron-ennis", "xander-zayas", "wbo", "wba", "junior-middleweight"]
---
# Ennis stops Zayas to seize the junior-middleweight titles in Brooklyn

Jaron 'Boots' Ennis dropped Xander Zayas three times and forced a seventh-round stoppage at Barclays Center, taking the WBO and WBA junior-middleweight world titles, handing the unbeaten Puerto Rican his first professional defeat and becoming a world champion in a second weight class.

Jaron "Boots" Ennis delivered the statement his backers had long predicted, stopping Xander Zayas in the seventh round at Barclays Center in Brooklyn to claim the WBO and WBA junior-middleweight world titles.

## Three knockdowns

Ennis set the tone immediately, flooring Zayas with a left hand in the opening round, [ESPN reported](https://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/49204042/ennis-stops-zayas-win-wbo-wba-junior-middleweight-titles). Zayas recovered and even enjoyed a strong third round, landing combinations that briefly troubled the challenger — a moment Ennis later credited to his own haste. "I was trying to rush to get him out of there and he caught me," he said.

The advantage did not hold. An uppercut put Zayas down a second time in the fifth, and a third knockdown in the seventh prompted the stoppage. Ennis moved to 36-0 with 32 knockouts; the result, [also covered by DAZN](https://www.dazn.com/en-US/news/boxing/xander-zayas-vs-jaron-boots-ennis-live-updates-results-highlights/), was emphatic.

## A title in a second division

The win carried weight beyond the belts. Ennis had built his reputation at welterweight, long regarded as one of the best in that division; moving up to 154 pounds and unifying two titles at the first attempt made him a two-weight world champion whose power has traveled up the scale with him. He is now positioned to chase full unification of the junior-middleweight division.

## A first loss for Zayas

For Zayas, 23, the defeat is a hard one — his first as a professional, leaving him at 23-1, and the loss of the titles that had marked him out as a rising star. He showed resilience in surviving the early knockdown and pressing the action, but Ennis's speed and punching ultimately overwhelmed him. "He won like a champion," Zayas said, adding that he would take time off before returning. Young and well-regarded, he has room to rebuild toward another title shot. For Ennis, the night confirmed his standing as one of boxing's most dangerous fighters at any weight.