“We both reached out to each other; they wanted the fight, we wanted the fight, but they never set a number,” Xander Zayas said on Cigar Talk. “How can we work if we don’t have a number? He was arguing with Shakur, he was arguing with Ryan, he was arguing with the whole boxing world. Who do you really want to fight?”
Zayas said the biggest issue in the matchup would have been size, pointing to the difference between his expected fight-night weight and what Haney typically carries into the ring after competing in lighter divisions.
He expects to rehydrate significantly from the 154-pound limit, while Haney, moving up in weight, would likely come in lighter, creating a noticeable difference once the fight settled into later rounds.
“He maybe gets in at like 160. I’m getting in that ring at 180. It’s different,” Xander Zayas said on Cigar Talk about Haney’s rehydrated weight. “What he felt during Ryan Garcia at 40, he’s going to feel that triple at 54. I was going to run through him. Of course I want that fight.”
Xander said the matchup would have paired two fighters who rely on control, timing, and positioning, but he believes his size and strength would have had a direct impact on exchanges as the fight wore on.
The fight never advanced beyond early discussions, but Zayas indicated he would still be open to it if terms are eventually agreed, while maintaining that the weight difference would remain a key factor.
Zayas is scheduled to defend his WBA and WBO 154-pound titles against Jaron Ennis on June 27. Haney has not finalized an opponent after talks with Rolando Romero failed, and has recently been linked to a potential fight with Ryan Garcia.
A loss for either fighter would likely delay any future meeting between them, making the timing of a Zayas-Haney fight uncertain in the near term.
