Vargas, Whittaker, Tucker added to Zayas-Ennis DAZN PPV

Boxing News
  • Ben Hammans
  • 2026-04-29T09:48:22Z ()
Vargas, Whittaker, Tucker added to Zayas-Ennis DAZN PPV photo
Zanfer Boxing / Mark Robinson & Matchroom Boxing

Matchroom and Top Rank have jointly announced three additions to the Xander Zayas versus Jaron Ennis unified super welterweight championship card. Emiliano Vargas, Ben Whittaker, and Jahi Tucker will all feature on the June 27, 2026, DAZN pay-per-view event at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Vargas Faces Mills in Chief Support

Emiliano Vargas will meet Bryce Mills in a 10-round super lightweight chief support bout. The 22-year-old Vargas (17-0, 14 KOs), recognized as The Ring’s 2025 Prospect of the Year, aims to advance toward championship contention against the 22-1 Mills. Vargas enters following a ninth-round technical knockout over Agustin Ezequiel Quintana on February 28, 2026.

Mills, who holds a background in amateur Muay Thai and kickboxing, secured a regional title on the same February date with a fourth-round knockout of Tobias Green. Vargas holds a significant power advantage on paper and currently carries top-15 rankings from all four major sanctioning bodies, peaking at number five with the WBO.

Whittaker Makes United States Debut

Undefeated British light heavyweight Ben Whittaker (11-0-1, 8 KOs) will make his United States debut against veteran Richard Rivera over 10 rounds. Whittaker returns quickly after a first-round knockout of Braian Nahuel Suarez on April 18. The Barclays Center platform provides the 28-year-old an opportunity to introduce himself to the American audience.

Rivera (27-2, 20 KOs) returns from a 16-month layoff, having last stopped Roger Guerrero in January 2025. Known for his “Popeye” persona, Rivera previously pushed Badou Jack to a split decision at cruiserweight in August 2022 before returning to light heavyweight, where he suffered a majority decision loss to Luis Antonio Tejeda in March 2024.

Cedeno Meets Tucker in Middleweight Clash

In the middleweight division, 23-year-old Jahi Tucker (16-1-1, 7 KOs) faces undefeated 2020 Dominican Olympian Euri Cedeno (14-0-1, 12 KOs) in a 10-round contest. Cedeno, holding top-15 rankings with the WBA, WBO, and IBF, recently secured a shutout decision over Etoundi William in January.

The matchup presents an opportunity for the 26-year-old Cedeno to demonstrate his abilities at a higher tier against Tucker, who is ranked tenth by the IBF and recently stopped Sona Akale in six rounds this past February.

Victories on the June 27 broadcast will position the winners for elevated world rankings and potential title eliminators in the second half of the year. The fighters will now finalise their training camps before converging on Brooklyn in what promises to be an exciting preamble to Zayas vs Enis, one of the biggest fights currently slated in the sport.

Written By Ben Hammans

Ben Hammans is the Managing Editor and founder of Box.Live. With a background in media analysis and extensive experience in web publishing and development, he launched the platform in 2016 to bring fans closer to the sport of boxing. Under his guidance, Box.Live has grown into one of the sport’s most widely used scheduling and data platforms, serving a global audience. When he’s not covering the latest news or analysing the sport, Ben can often be found in the crowd at boxing events around the world, usually with a pint in hand.

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