WBA junior middleweight champion Abass Badou says he’s “determined to do the job” when he ventures into enemy territory to face WBO champion Xander Zayas for their unification fight at 154 on January 31, 2026, at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Zayas and Baraou are familiar with one another already, having sparred 80 rounds in the past before they captured their belts.

The German Baraou (17-1, 9 KOs) is fighting for the first time as the WBA champion, and he’ll be looking to add another belt to his collection by relieving the 23-year-old Zayas (22-0, 13 KOs) of his WBO belt. Capturing that title will put Baraou, 31, in a position to get the big-money fights against one of these names:

• Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis – WBA interim champion
• Sebastian Fundora – WBC champion
• Vergil Ortiz Jr. – WBC interim belt-holder
• Bakhram Murtazaliev

Abass has to be viewed as the favorite in this fight after his impressive performance in his last contest, defeating WBA interim 154-lb champion Yoenis Tellez by a 12-round unanimous decision on August 23, 2026, in Orlando, Florida. Baraou wore Tellez down with pressure and a series of combinations. In the 12th, he dropped an exhausted Tellez with a flurry of shots that had him close to being stopped.

“We know how to adjust. We know what Abass is good at. So, we need to be mindful of that. He’s a great athlete. Not everybody is willing to fight the best, but we’re willing to do it,” said Xander Zayas during today’s kickoff press conference about his fight against Abass Baraou on January 31, 2026.

The adjustment comment from Zayas suggests that he could resort to holding or moving to try neutralize Baraou’s offense. That’s what Zayas did in his last fight against Jorge Garcia Perez on July 26th in their battle for the vacant WBO 154-lb title.

Perez was working Xander over with power shots on the inside. So, Xander adjusted by holding and moving. It wasn’t an entertaining fight, but that approach worked for Zayas, who edged Perez to win a 12-round unanimous decision. Hopefully, Zayas doesn’t use a lot of holding and moving against Abass because it’s not fun to watch.

“This is my baby. After the fight, I slept with it for about a week,” said Zayas about his WBO 154-lb belt. “It’s everything I dedicated my life to. We’re here to put on a show for Puerto Rico.

“I’m determined when I’m on a mission, and I’m willing to do anything,” said Baraou. “I’m a man for the job. It’s not the first time I’m doing this. I’m willing to go anywhere to accomplish my dreams and my goals. Coming to Puerto Rico to face Xander was an easy decision for me. It’s a hard fight. It’s a great challenge.

“Sparring is different from a fight. It might help. We’ll find out on fight night,” said Abass when asked about the 80 rounds of sparring he’s done with Xander in the past. “It’s a risky fight for both of us.”