Xander Zayas vs Patrick Teixeira Odds, Pick & Prediction for Puerto Rican Day Parade Weekend (Saturday, June 8)

Xander Zayas vs. Patrick Teixeira Odds

Here's everything you need to know about the Xander Zayas vs. Patrick Teixeira odds for Saturday, June 8.

For some of us, this is going to be a huge night.

Xander Zayas (18-0, 12 KOs) is being offered the torch, and now it's his job to take it by beating up fellow super welterweight contender Patrick Teixeira (34-4, 25 KOs).

This is a classic rising-star spot in boxing. The young prospect gets his first main event on Saturday night (10 p.m. ET, ESPN & ESPN+) to showcase himself on the big stage against a credible opponent who has fought at the world level – in this case, a former world champion.

Zayas, 21, is also being given the Puerto Rican Day Parade spot.

As a Puerto Rican born, raised and living in New York, who has done an award-winning mini-documentary on what this very night means, I can speak to this.

Here's my Zayas vs Teixeira pick and prediction for Saturday.

Puerto Rican Day Parade Boxing History

This weekend it's Xander Zayas.

But Miguel Cotto is really the guy when it comes to fighting on Puerto Rican Day Parade weekend. Felix Trinidad was part of Puerto Rican Day Parade festivities but never actually fought the weekend off in New York City.

Top Rank put Cotto in that position for the first time on June 11, 2005. Cotto was 23-0 and the WBO super lightweight champion and stopped Muhammadqodir Abdullaev via TKO in Round 8. By then, he was already 3-0 with 3 KOs and 24 years old. So, while also a rising star, he had already been establishing himself at the world level.

In subsequent years, he beat Paulie Malignaggi by decision in 2006, Zab Judah by stoppage in 2007, Joshua Clottey by decision in 2009, knocked out Sergio Martinez in 2014 to win the WBC middleweight title, and lastly, stopped Daniel Geale in 2015 to retain that title. Cotto was 6-0 with four KOs in this spot.

The torch was then passed, dubious in hindsight, to Felix Verdejo, the Top Rank rising star who preceded Zayas.

Verdejo, like Zayas, was starting on undercards and co-features, and from 2014 through 2016, he was 3-0 with two knockouts. But then following a loss in 2018 (not on parade weekend), he was never the same until his forced retirement in 2021.

(Wondering what happened to Verdejo? He's in jail for murdering his ex-lover, who was pregnant. You can Google it; let's move on.)

And then there's Edgar Berlanga!

As covered in the aforementioned documentary (watch it below), Berlanga has been here too and was the main attraction in a Puerto Rican Day Parade weekend bout in 2018 at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn. In terms of high-leverage spots, there was only the Roamer Alexis Angulo bout in 2022 – his last with Top Rank – in which he won an underwhelming decision and was subsequently suspended for biting his opponent's ear.

This is Zayas' first main event, but he won an eight-round decision last year in this spot.

Now, for the actual Zayas vs. Teixeira fight this weekend.

Zayas vs. Teixeira Breakdown & Analysis

Zayas is a massive favorite, to no surprise. He's 5-foot-10 with a 74-inch reach, which is a very good frame for the division. He has punching power, though he's not quite Vergil Ortiz or Tim Tszyu in the same division. But what he does have is he's multifaceted. He's proven, albeit at a less-than-championship level, that he could win in a multitude ways.

He's a skilled counterpuncher, he can bang on the inside, he has the Puerto Rican left hook to the body, he's already won multiple times, he has an excellent jab when he commits to it, and he's demonstrated to be a solid defensive fighter when needed.

He's toolsy, versatile and very skilled. He's also just 21 and will likely grow into a fearsome middleweight several years from now as he strengthens.

We last saw Zayas in December, stopping Jorge Fortea in Round 5, and he's now coming off back-to-back knockouts.

Teixeira is a near-6-foot southpaw with a 74-inch reach. His length and experience could pose some interesting issues. Hence why I love this matchmaking for Zayas as a true test. Teixeira isn't elite but was good enough to get to a title. He beat current middleweight champion Carlos Adames by decision in 2019 to win an interim title and was promoted to full champion before losing his first title defense 15 months later to Brian Castano by decision.

He then lost to Paul Valenzuela Cuesta by disqualification and Magomed Kurbanov by decision in 2022, and he's since won by knockout three straight times at middleweight and super middlweight. This will be his first fight at 154 pounds since 2021.

Zayas vs. Teixeira Prediction & Pick

I don't think there's a slam-dunk bet on the board besides Zayas winning, but Zayas being priced at -1450 (93.6% implied win probability) is too much for me. I think this should be damn near cut in half to about -750 (88.2%). Teixeira is a tougher test than the books are giving him credit for, but to be fair, he's aging and not at his peak, so I get it.

Teixeira's very first loss was before ever competing for a title, an upset knockout defeat to Brooklyn-born Curtis Stevens in 2016 at middleweight.

Teixeira is long but not fast, and he drops his hands more than you'd like, leaving himself susceptible to looping shots – Stevens ended him with a right hook, and Adames was piecing him up in their close bout. Also, 154 may be a tough cut given that he weighed in at 164 for his last fight three months ago.

I think Zayas stops him, so I'm taking him by knockout/technical knockout at -145 on FanDuel. (Over 0.5 knockdowns is just -210, and I'd say that's probably a safer play on the board too.)

The Pick: Xander Zayas by KO/TKO (-145 at FanDuel)