Patrick Teixeira made the most of his downtime and is ready to revisit unfinished business.

The former WBO 154-pound titlist earned his third consecutive victory. The latest was a fourth-round stoppage of Eddison Saltarin this past Saturday at Clube Cassasp in the Santana district of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Teixiera beat on Venezuela’s Saltarin (18-3, 14 knockouts) until he quit on his stool in their super middleweight bout.

Both the weight and level of competition are temporary, however.

Teixeira took the fight as means to remain active. The 33-year-old from Sombrio, Brazil was previously due to face unbeaten prospect Xander Zayas on February 16 in New York City. Zayas withdrew from the bout due to an undisclosed injury. The plan now is to get that fight back on the table.

“I’m very happy to emerge victorious from this fight,” Teixeira told The Ring. “I’ve been working hard since the fight with Xander was cancelled.

“So my manager Patrick Nascimento decided to do this preparation fight and now I’m waiting for my fight with Xander Zayas.”
Zayas-Nascimento will likely land on the June 8 Top Rank on ESPN show from Hulu Theater in New York City. Top Rank has the location reserved as part of its annual show on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day Parade.

Teixeira (34-4, 25 KOs) has stopped each of his last three opponents, all inside the distance. The run has come after a rough patch where he suffered three straight defeats. The string of setbacks began with a February 2021 points loss to Brian Castaño to end his WBO 154-pound title reign.

A disqualification defeat one year later further set back Teixeira’s career. He was then all but written off after a July 2022 points loss to then-unbeaten Magomed Kurbanov in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

Teixeira’s team engineered a comeback at home before sending him back to the contender level. The plan worked, as Zayas called out Teixeira after a December 9 ESPN-televised knockout win in Pembroke Pines, Florida.

There was no problem on the other side. Teixeira embraced the challenge, with pen in hand ready to sign. The fight was parked, however, when it was learned that Zayas (18-0, 13 KOs) was injured and unavailable until June.

Teixeira’s last significant win came in a twelve-round decision over then-unbeaten Carlos Adames. Their November 2019 meeting came with the interim WBO 154-pound title at stake. Teixeira hasn’t quite flourished since then, though the win itself aged remarkably well. Adames (23-1, 18 KOs), No. 2 at 160, has won five straight, and currently holds the interim WBC middleweight title.

A win over Zayas would allow Teixeira to move back in that direction.

“I will continue my strong preparation for Zayas and I will emerge victorious in that fight,” vowed Teixeira.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Follow @JakeNDaBox

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