Few fighters feel the weight that Felix “Tito” Trinidad carries when it comes to boxing in Puerto Rico.

Trinidad was one of boxing’s best in the 1990s, when he began building a 40-0 record, including 33 knockouts, became a unified champion at welterweight and junior middleweight and won a world title at middleweight. The Cupey Alto, Puerto Rico, native’s impact on fans and boxers from his home island will likely never be replicated.

His influence is easily seen when he is often met with chants of “Tito!” Xander Zayas was moved to tears when he saw Trinidad in person for the first time since he was 6 years old.

Seventeen years later, Trinidad is more than happy with what he has seen from Zayas as the young champion has become one of the new faces of boxing in Puerto Rico.

“I’m really proud of Xander Zayas,“ Trinidad told The Ring. “He’s turned into a great boxer. He’s such a great representation of boxing and Puerto Rico. It makes me really proud to see what he’s doing in the boxing community.“

Zayas (22-0, 13 KOs), a native of San Juan, won the then-vacant WBO junior middleweight title July 26, when he defeated Jorge Garcia by unanimous decision in The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The win made Zayas, then 22, the youngest world champion in boxing at the time. He remains the youngest male champion in the sport.

Zayas’ first defense of his WBO belt is set for January 31 at Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan. He’ll battle WBA super welterweight champ Abass Baraou (17-1, 9 KOs) in a 154-pound title unification fight, which was officially announced at a press conference Wednesday in San Juan.

“That’ll be beautiful,” Zayas said of defending his title in San Juan. “I’ve only fought in Puerto Rico as a professional once, in my fourth fight. Now, coming back as a world champion, I think it’s going to be even bigger.”