LAS VEGAS – Xander Zayas sat within a sparse crowd at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena on Saturday night.

The Puerto Rican contender attended Sebastian Fundora’s relatively easy victory over Chordale Booker because he has been named the mandatory challenger for Fundora’s WBO junior middleweight title. Zayas was impressed by Fundora’s performance, though not by the size of the crowd that assembled to watch Fundora’s defenses of his WBC and WBO 154-pound championships.

Zayas thus would prefer to fight Fundora at Madison Square Garden sometime this summer. The 22-year-old Zayas has fought either inside the main arena or The Theater at Madison Square Garden seven times in five years as a pro.

His promoter, Bob Arum, has attempted to follow with Zayas the path Puerto Rican icon Miguel Cotto took in establishing himself as a draw at The Garden. Fundora’s handlers have already informed executives for Arum’s Top Rank Inc., though, that Fundora doesn’t intend to face Zayas at either The Garden’s main arena or The Theater.

That’s fine by Zayas, who is ranked No. 1 by the WBO, No. 2 by the WBC and No. 10 by The Ring, five spots below the fifth-rated Fundora.

“I would love for it to be at Madison Square Garden,” Zayas told The Ring. “Obviously, I’ve been building my career at Madison Square Garden – seven fights now. But if I have to go to the moon to get those belts, I’ll go to the moon to get those belts.”

While the site for their fight hasn’t been solidified, representatives for Fundora (22-1-1, 14 KOs), of Coachella, California, and Zayas (21-0, 13 KOs), of Sunrise, Florida, are firmly committed to reaching a deal for them to fight next for Fundora’s two titles. The WBO has afforded Fundora’s promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz, and Top Rank Inc. a negotiating period before the Puerto Rico-based sanctioning organization could order a purse bid.

“It’s the only reason I’m here,” Zayas said. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t know I was gonna fight him. I’m the mandatory for a reason. He wants it to happen. I want it to happen. His team and my team are on the same page, so it’s all about having a nice conversation.”

Zayas has a lot of respect for Fundora, but he is certain he will give the 6-foot-6 southpaw much more difficulty than Booker. Fundora wobbled Booker with two left uppercuts, which eventually led to a knockdown in the fourth round.

Booker beat referee Thomas Taylor’s count. Fundora swarmed him, which prompted Taylor to move between them to end their scheduled 12-round bout at 2:51 of the fourth round.

Booker (23-2, 11 KOs), a southpaw from Stamford, Connecticut, lost inside the distance for the second time in nine years as a pro. Fundora entered the ring as a 14-1 favorite over Booker, who is ranked No. 5 by the WBO and No. 13 by the WBC.

“He did what he needed to do,” Zayas said of Fundora. “He had a fighter in Chordale Booker that didn’t come to fight. From the get-go, he was a little bit on the back foot, trying to survive. I mean, [Fundora] made the adjustment. He knew what he needed to do after more than a year and some change off, defend his titles and stay active to be ready for me in the summer.”