Xander Zayas could soon be in the driver's seat at 154 pounds if he can get past Abass Baraou in their unification title bout at Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan on Saturday.

What lies ahead in a stacked division of contenders includes a pair of fights Zayas says could have already happened. On Inside The Ring, the 23-year-old from San Juan, Puerto Rico, blamed WBC champion Sebastian Fundora and Vergil Ortiz for why he hasn’t fought them yet.

Zayas didn't hold back when it came to Ortiz (24-0, 22 KOs), saying he had previously agreed to a fight against him before he opted to face Israil Madrimov last February instead.

“I feel like I get under his skin a lot because I keep it simple,” Zayas said. “I state the facts. The first time they offered the fight, I accepted right away, then they moved on with Madrimov. All I said was I accepted the fight right away. There's no thinking about it. Then the second time, he said, ‘Oh, we sent you an offer,’ and I just posted that it wasn't an offer. A real offer is a date, location and a purse. He didn't have any of that in the offer that they sent. Then he went on typing paragraph after paragraph. Relax, man, I'm just posting the facts. Just don't lie.”

“It's always the same component to every big fight that has Vergil Ortiz’s name on it. He always wants it till he gets to the talks, and he gets to the talks and it never happens. So at the end of the day, with all these other guys, I feel like we can make something happen. [Jaron] “Boots” Ennis, I feel like he will be available. A lot of these guys will be available and ready to go, but again, it's a matter of having the right conversation.”

Fundora (23-1-1, 15 KOs) was previously a unified WBC and WBO champion. Zayas was the mandatory challenger for Fundora’s WBO title after his fourth-round stoppage of Chordale Booker last March, before he opted to rematch Tim Tszyu and vacated the belt. Zayas said Fundora’s camp wanted a rehydration clause inserted into the contract for their potential fight, which turned out to be a sticking point.

“He was like, ‘We’ll accept the fight, but he'll have to do a rehydration clause,” Zayas said. “And we're like, ‘We're not doing that. It doesn't make sense. We're not fighting for the IBF, or we're not fighting in London. We're fighting for the WBO and WBC. There's no need for a rehydration clause.”

Zayas, who is The Ring’s No. 5-ranked junior middleweight, went on to fight for the vacant WBO title and defeated Jorge Garcia by unanimous decision to win the belt on July 26 in New York.

While potential bouts against Fundora and Ortiz would make for appetizing matchups, Zayas assured all of his focus is on Baraou before any other big fight at 154 pounds. Baraou (17-1, 9 KOs), who is ranked No. 8 by The Ring at junior middleweight, won the interim WBA title with a unanimous decision over Yoenis Tellez on August 23 in Orlando. The German was later elevated to full titlist after Terence Crawford vacated the belt.

Zayas, who will be fighting in Puerto Rico for just the second time in his career, could become the first Puerto Rican to unify a title on the island and the youngest unified champion in boxing. Ivan Calderon and Mexico's Giovani Segura met in the only other unification clash to take place there, with the latter scoring an eighth-round KO against the home fighter in 2010.

Zayas and Baraou have spent multiple training camps together and have sparred numerous rounds against each other, with both fighters based out of South Florida.

“I'm looking to show that I am who I say I am,” Zayas said. “I'm the best 154-pounder in the world, and Saturday night, I will show that.”