He took the full risk and was not rewarded for it: Abass Baraou from Oberhausen lost his WBA world title in the country of his opponent Xander Zayas, Puerto Rico, through a defeat on points. Over the course of 12 rounds, the German never managed to fully utilize his strengths in the ring. But the verdict was not unanimous.
Two judges scored the fight for Zayas, one of the officials saw Baraou ahead over the course of the fight. In the end there was defeat for the Oberhausen native and he had to give up his hard-fought WBA light middleweight world title after just one fight.
After the fight ended, he fought back tears in the interview in the ring, but admitted that Xander Zayas was the better boxer that evening. The Puerto Rican now unifies the belts of the major associations WBA and WBO in the light middleweight division.
Away hurdle too high for Baraou this time
Already during the anthems it became clear who the underdog would be in the ring. The German anthem was recorded on the tape and stopped shortly before the end. The Puerto Rican and US anthems were sung one after the other a cappella by an artist live in the ring.
Fast pace at the start
At the start of the fight, both boxers showed high speed and tried to land their own moves. The German initially controlled the fight from the middle of the ring and scored a few hits. But the “local hero” Zayas also made his first mark.
From the second round onwards, the Puerto Rican took over the action in the ring more and more, cleverly used his reach advantage and determined the fight from a distance. The Oberhausener had greater difficulty coming up with his own actions. It became apparent that it would be a complicated undertaking to win in the “Lion’s Den”, in the opponent’s country.
Zayas with clever performance
It wasn’t until the fourth round that Abass Baraou’s plan to change the fight more towards an exchange of blows started to work. The German with Togolese roots occasionally managed to put pressure on Zayas and become more active. But Zayas remained dangerous and repeatedly found ways to escape from pressure situations that Abass Baraou tried to initiate. The Puerto Rican also repeatedly scored good counterattacks.
Wild last round comes too late
It became apparent that Abass Baraou would need a strong finish to win the fight. His Cuban trainer Jorge Rubio also encouraged Baraou to increase the intensity in the last two rounds. But Zayas was too calm and clever. Only in the last round did he get involved in the exchange of blows in the ‘in-fight’ that Abass Baraou had already been looking for.
So after 12 unsatisfactory rounds, the Oberhausen player had no choice but to admit defeat and congratulate Xander Zayas. Both boxers knew each other before the fight from many sparring rounds and treated each other very respectfully.
As unified world champion, Zayas is the new big name in the light middleweight division. Abass Baraou first has to reorient himself. The loss to Zayas is the second of Baraou’s professional career.
