A chance to become a unified champion is special on its own, but doing so in your hometown adds more meaning.

WBO junior middleweight champion Xander Zayas can do just that on January 31 when facing Abass Baraou in a 154-pound title unification bout at Puerto Rico's Coliseo de San Juan - the same town he grew up before moving to the United States aged 11.

"Once I become the unified champion in Puerto Rico, it means the world because I'm going to make history," Zayas told The Ring. "I'm going to be the first Puerto Rican to become unified on Puerto Rican soil and youngest unified champion at the moment.

"I keep rewriting history. It excites me a lot to do it, and once I do in front of my people, it’s going to make it even more special."

Zayas-Baraou will be just the second such unification bout taking place in Puerto Rico. Ivan Calderon and Giovani Segura met in the other bout on Aug. 28, 2010, with Mexico's Segura defeating Puerto Rico's Calderon via eighth-round knockout.

Zayas, 23, will fight in Puerto Rico for the second time as a professional, having previously boxed there as a three-fight prospect in February 2020.

Zayas (22-0, 13 KOs) won a then-vacant WBO belt when outpointing Jorge Garcia on July 26 in New York. Baraou (17-1, 9 KOs) won the interim WBA title with an upset decision win over the previously-unbeaten Yoenis Tellez in Orlando the following month.

The German, 31, was later elevated to full champion after Terence Crawford vacated the belt for his super middleweight megafight with Canelo Alvarez on September 13.

Becoming a unified champion won't just represent the fulfillment of a dream for Zayas; it holds similar weight for his longtime trainer Javiel Centeno, and the rest of their team.

"It's special, the fact that this could happen in Puerto Rico," Centeno told The Ring. "It's one of his dreams, and his dreams are our dreams. We always tell him that as a team, we want the best for him and follow his dreams. We want to make his dreams happen."

Given the stakes and where the fight will take place, it adds another level of excitement for Zayas.

"I get to do it in front of my people," Zayas said. "I get to do it in front of my crowd, and they get to see me be crowned a unified world champion."