Xander Zayas and Jaron Ennis have come together for the final time before battle at the customary weigh-in.  The two-belt junior middleweight battle has the entire boxing population excited, and with the Puerto Rican champion Zayas going against Ennis from Philadelphia, two of boxing’s most prized regions will collide on Saturday, live on DAZN pay-per-view. Friday's weigh-in went off without much in the way of controversy, with every fighter on the card making weight ahead of Saturday's event. However, there was a bit of drama ahead of the weigh-in as Zayas' camp requested that Ennis trim the sizeable beard he had grown, with "Boots" denying the request. The New York State Athletic Commission then got involved and ruled that Ennis will, indeed, have to shave down his facial hair before stepping into the ring.

 

As DAZN's Sergio Mora explained on the weigh-in broadcast, a beard can act as an advantage for a fighter. "In the amateurs there's a rule that you can't fight with a beard like that," Mora explained. "In the pro ranks, the commission gets involved as well, because [a beard] can serve as a cushion and it hides the target. And if you're not aiming at the target, if you can't even see it, it gets in the fighters' heads. Think of Samson: the hair makes him strong, sometimes the beard does as well." 

 

BOXER WEIGHTS

 

Xander Zayas vs. Jaron 'Boots' Ennis; For Zayas's WBO and WBA junior middleweight titles

Zayas: 153.8 pounds vs. Ennis: 153 ;

 

Emiliano Vargas: 138.6 vs. Bryce Mills: 139; 

Ben Whittaker: 174.4 vs. Richard Rivera: 173.8; and

Jahi Tucker: 159.8 vs. Euri Cendeno: 158.8.