The Theater, Madison Square Garden, New York City - Junior middleweight phenom Xander Zayas (16-0, 10 KOs) kicked off the Puerto Rican Day Parade festivities without a hitch. The 20-year-old scored a dominant eight-round unanimous decision against California-born veteran Ronald “Diablo” Cruz (18-3-1, 12 KOs) to defend his NABF and NABO belts

In the opening stanza, Zayas landed a counter right hand that floored Cruz. Zayas maintained his composure and began boxing off his jab, stopping only to land two and three-punch combinations.

Cruz, who has never been stopped, resorted to a high guard to avoid punishment, and he managed to connect with an occasional right hand. However, Zayas’ versatility made it virtually impossible for Cruz to land as he was outgunned both on the inside and the outside.

With three scores of 80-71, Zayas takes home the second annual Miguel Cotto Award.

“This is a dream come true," said Zayas. "I’m very happy to have fought during Puerto Rican Day Parade weekend. He was a tough guy. I was hitting him with everything. He didn’t want to go down. He was here to fight. He was motivated. He was tough. But we passed with flying colors. Unanimous decision. And we made the adjustments we needed to do.

“He brought out the dog in me. I had to dig deep. I had to stay focused. I had to listen to my corner. And most importantly I had to have fun, which was the most important part. I had the crowd here cheering for me, so I was trying to stay as focused as possible.”