:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69934039/1235168820.0.jpg)
Top Rank’s October 23rd ESPN card, headlined by Jamel Herring’s super featherweight title defense against Shakur Stevenson, is officially a tripleheader. 19-year-old Puerto Rican prospect Xander Zayas takes on Dan Karpency in the co-feature, while Nico Ali Walsh opens the show against James Westley II.
I am excited to be making my @espn national broadcast debut on October 23rd at the @StateFarmArena in Atlanta. Tuned in I won't disappoint.
— Xander Zayas (@XanderZayas) September 30, 2021
#críaboricua #watchmerise #TeamXander#SangreNueva #youngking@sweatboxboxing @trboxing @TheLeorever @FTWRBrand @PerfectingA pic.twitter.com/9r1zgc6wF9
Now two years into his professional career, Zayas (10-0, 7 KO) has been nothing if not active. He’s already fought four times in 2021, including a decision over Jose Luis Sanchez, who was coming off a draw with Adrian Granados, earlier this month on the Oscar Valdez-Robson Conceicao undercard. Karpency (9-3-1, 4 KO) hasn’t fought since February of last year and has just 13 fights in eight years as a pro, but the press release brags about how he’s never been stopped.
Zayas said, “I am grateful to Top Rank and ESPN for this opportunity. Fighting underneath a main event like Herring-Stevenson, in front of the great Atlanta fans, is an honor. It will also be my first time fighting on ESPN as a co-feature, and I will not disappoint. My goal is to win Prospect of the Year, and I’m coming to Atlanta to put on a spectacular show. Don’t miss it.”
Ali Walsh (1-0, 1 KO) is Muhammad Ali’s grandson, which the broadcast will remind you of approximately once every five minutes, and faces an unknown 36-year-old in Westley (1-0, 0 KO) who had his first-ever fight in June.
The ESPN+ undercard features a handful of noteworthy names, including Evan Holyfield (7-0, 5 KO), Havey Brady Jr. (3-0, 3 KO), and recent Olympian Troy Isley (2-0, 1 KO).