This confidence comes after an intense reading of the cards. A referee scored Barao the winner 116-112. Zayas had the same two scores. He admits the wait was painful. “When I heard about the decision, I was a little scared,” he said. “But to be honest, I feel like I succeeded. I won at least eight or nine rounds. Maybe he won three or four.”

Zayas detailed the problems he had to solve during the fight. “I hurt my left hand in the ninth round,” he said. “I jab a lot and he’s hard headed, so I jab my jab guy. But I figured it out, like all champions do. Champions find a way to win.”

Zayas came out fresh, jab-ing and scoring with short combinations, allowing Barao to pressure and overreach. Zayas stayed disciplined when Ballau found success with a right hand in the fifth. In the ninth, a clean right hand knocked Ballau down and briefly drew Zayas into the exchange. He corrected his course and boxed brilliantly to the end.

Baraou accepts the results without complaint

Barao later raised no objection. “Congratulations to him,” he said. “I’m proud of his performance. He beat me fair and square. He deserved it. I’ll come out stronger.”

Zayas currently holds two belts at 154, making the mandatory schedule tighter and raising the cost of every decision. His own words point to growth under pressure, not dominance without paying a price. Injured hand close card. Make adjustments in real time.

Those adjustments need to come sooner against an experienced junior middleweight who cuts into the ring and keeps the tempo high. The belt says Unified Championship. His comments suggest that a boxer is still learning how to end a fight without involving the referee. The next defense will test whether this lesson still holds when pressure begins sooner and margins shrink.