Xander Zayas and Abass Baraou have agreed to a deal for a junior middleweight title unification on Jan. 31 at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, sources told The Ring on Thursday.

Zayas will defend his WBO title. Baraou will risk his WBA belt. It will be the first defense for each fighter.

Zayas is The Ring’s No. 6 boxer at 154 pounds, while Baraou is No. 10. For Zayas, it should be a dream scenario: a homecoming title defense on the island where he grew up.

He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico’s capital city. When Zayas was 11, he moved to South Florida, where he still resides and trains. Now 23, the rising star will look to unify titles in the stacked junior middleweight division.

Zayas (22-0, 13 KOs) won the vacant title in July with a unanimous decision over Mexico’s Jorge Garcia in New York. Germany’s Baraou (17-1, 9 KOs) won his belt with a major upset decision victory over Yoenis Tellez in August in Orlando.

Baraou, 31, dropped Tellez in the final round and captured the WBA interim title. He was later elevated when Terence Crawford vacated the WBA super welterweight title.

Baraou’s lone pro defeat was a split decision against former title challenger Jack Culcay in 2020.