If Xander Zayas had his way, the Puerto Rican contender would be preparing to challenge Sebastian Fundora on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

That's the higher-profile fight Zayas and his promoter, Bob Arum, pursued after Fundora technically knocked out Chordale Booker in the fourth round March 22 in Las Vegas. Zayas was the mandatory challenger for Fundora's WBO junior middleweight title and could've won two 154-pound championships simultaneously if he beat the 6-foot-6 southpaw.

Fundora’s promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz, made it clear almost immediately that Fundora, then the WBC and WBO champ, wouldn’t defend his titles against Zayas at Madison Square Garden or The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Zayas has fought a total of seven times at those venues over the past 3½ years and, even as the challenger, would’ve been viewed as the “A” side of that event.

Team Fundora ultimately chose a marketable rematch with Tim Tszyu, the Australian star Fundora forced to quit on his stool following the seventh round last Saturday night at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Fundora (23-1-1, 15 KOs), of Coachella, California, vacated his WBO belt and defended only his WBC crown against Tszyu (25-3, 18 KOs), whom Fundora defeated by split decision in a bloody battle that took place in March 2024 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Zayas (21-0, 13 KOs), of Sunrise, Florida, will meet Mexico’s Jorge Garcia (33-4, 26 KOs) for the vacant WBO belt Saturday night. ESPN will televise Zayas-Garcia as the main event of a three-bout broadcast from The Theater at Madison Square Garden (9 p.m. ET; 6 p.m. PT).

“It didn’t happen because his team didn’t want it to happen,” Zayas told The Ring regarding the Fundora fight. “They decided to go another route. We said yes to everything they wanted, except one thing. They wanted a rehydration clause, so we said no to that.

"But everything else we said yes. It didn’t happen because they didn’t want it to happen at that time. Once I win a world title, it’s a whole other topic. But right now, I’m not focused on nobody else other than Jorge Garcia Perez.”

Los Mochis’ Garcia upset previously unbeaten Charles Conwell by split decision three months ago to earn the No. 2 position in the WBO’s junior middleweight rankings. Cleveland’s Conwell (21-1, 16 KOs) was a 13-1 favorite to beat Garcia on April 19 at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California.

Zayas is a lesser favorite, 4-1 according to DraftKings. Zayas, 22, hopes a victory over Garcia, 28, leads to fighting Fundora, The Ring’s No. 5-ranked junior middleweight, by the end of this year or early in 2026.

A fully focused Zayas is much more mindful this week, however, of the gritty Garcia’s power and ability to pull off an upset if not approached appropriately. Garcia is rated 10th by The Ring in the 154-pound division, whereas Zayas isn’t ranked.

“I don’t care who’s next,” Zayas said. “Right now, it’s Jorge Garcia and I’ve gotta get through him. I cannot overlook him. He’s earned his opportunity and he’s here to fight. He’s here to become a world champion, the same way I am, so I have to focus on him.”