The unbeaten WBA/WBO 154-pound champion’s promoter commended him for embracing such a difficult fight June 27 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The 94-year-old Arum understands, of course, that Jaron “Boots” Ennis will present the most dangerous, complicated challenge of Zayas’ six-year professional career.

Arum also believes boxing fans will praise Zayas for even agreeing to face Ennis if he loses a competitive fight to the former Ring, IBF and WBA welterweight champ. The potential reward, according to Arum, out-weighs the risk for one of his favorite fighters promoted by Top Rank Inc.

“There will be tremendous interest in the fight,” Arum told The Ring. “DAZN is gonna invest a lotta money in production and in presenting the fight. So, now people will look at it as a major event, which is correct. Now, if he wins the fight, tremendous, off the charts. But if he loses the fight, but he fights intelligently and gallantly, he’ll get a lotta credit for having been in a big fight and being very competitive. So, I look at it as a win-win for Xander.”

Ennis opened as more than a 2-1 favorite to defeat Zayas after their 12-round title fight was officially announced Monday.

Though the underdog, Zayas (23-0, 13 KOs), of Davie, Florida, has fought at or near the junior middleweight limit of 154 pounds for the past 4½ years. Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs, 1 NC) has logged less than one round since he announced his move up to junior middleweight almost 10 months ago, because he needed only 1:58 to knock out Uisma Lima in his division debut October 11.

Ennis has barely lost rounds during his 10-year career, let alone fights, yet Zayas sees flaws he is certain he can exploit against the multi-dimensional Philadelphia native.

“One thing about Xander is he has tremendous confidence,” Arum said. “It’s a tough, tough assignment. This is not an easy fight. But he pushed for it – no question about it.”

Arum has noticed marked improvement in Zayas during his past three fights. The native Puerto Rican added the WBA crown to his WBO belt when he edged Germany’s Abass Baraou (17-2, 9 KOs) by split decision in his last fight, a 12-rounder January 31 in San Juan.

“Not only is he stronger and has shown much more stamina, he’s a much more intelligent fighter,” Arum said. “He’s beginning to understand the fight game. He understands what you have to do to win. He has really developed tremendously over the last year.”

As Zayas’ confidence has grown, so has Arum’s belief in his fighter’s ability to beat the best junior middleweights in boxing.

“He was a baby,” Arum said. “He’s now becoming a man, and he’s growing into his manhood. He has superb confidence. Whether he can beat Ennis, we’ll have to see. But this is a good time to do that fight, funny enough, because a victory, which I think is very possible, will get a lot of attention because so many people are picking the other guy.”

Zayas is ranked third among The Ring’s contenders for a vacant 154-pound championship, two spots ahead of Ennis and behind only top-rated Vergil Ortiz Jr. (24-0, 22 KOs) and second-ranked Sebastian Fundora (24-1-1, 16 KOs), the WBC champ. Ennis, 28, and Zayas, 23, are expected to come face-to-face at a press conference April 8 in Brooklyn.

Keith Idec is a senior writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing.