Xander Zayas is doing anything but that in his first defense as the unified WBA and WBO 154-pound champion.

Zayas will defend his titles against former unified welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis on June 27 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The bout headlines a Matchroom Boxing and Top Rank co-promoted event that will stream on DAZN PPV.

Top Rank president Todd duBoef didn’t disagree when Matchroom president Eddie Hearn said he would have tried to be patient building up Zayas rather than putting him in with Ennis right away if he were promoting him. DuBoef said the plan was for Zayas to take the path of many Puerto Rican boxers before reaching superstardom, making a splash in New York and build on that.

Ultimately, it was Zayas’ desire to pursue the biggest challenge available that won out.

“I was thinking that same game plan you laid out for Xander Zayas,” duBoef said at the launch press conference on Wednesday at Barclays Center. “I want to be honest. I had Bad Bunny. I had Madison Square Garden. I know that model, but you listen to your guys.

“What we do today is we don't say you got to protect the zero. Whatever you do, you go out there and you perform, and you perform for the fans, and you devalue the loss so tomorrow is a better day than today. We believe in him 100 percent.”

Zayas (23-0, 13 KOs) won the vacant WBO title in July when he beat Jorge Garcia by unanimous decision. The 23-year-old from San Juan returned home for the first time since 2020 to face Abass Baraou in a unification bout for his WBA belt and won a split decision on Jan. 31.

Ennis, 28, held The Ring, IBF and WBA welterweight titles before moving up to junior middleweight. In his lone fight at 154, the Philadelphia native, ranked No. 5 by The Ring, dropped Uisma Lima twice before stopping him in the first round on Oct. 11.

Another unification bout against IBF champion Josh Kelly was also an option for Zayas, The Ring’s No. 3 junior middleweight, before he agreed to face Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs). Zayas’ trainer, Javiel Centeno, initially questioned why his pupil wanted to face Ennis, whom he touted as “one of the elite guys in the division.” After discussing the fight, Centeno was on the same page as Zayas.

“Xander sat down, and he explained why [Ennis,]” Centeno said. “He does see things that I've seen in the past as well, and he came with that confidence and that he can do this, and that's all I needed.

“We’ve talked about Jaron Ennis in the past. We've watched his fights. We've seen him come along, and we've always agreed on things we can take advantage of. It was one of those things where [Xander] said, ‘OK, this is the time. Let's go ahead and do it.’”

And while Ennis unquestionably represents the tallest task of Zayas’ career, what Centeno has seen in the last two fights gives him confidence his fighter will be at his best come June 27.

“The growth in his boxing IQ has compounded,” he said. “One championship after the next, every fight he's elevated his game. I've seen it in the gym, and he's proven it in the ring. That alone gave me the feeling that he can get this done.”