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Under the Top Rank banner, Zayas made his professional debut against previously undefeated (1-0) Genesis Wynn on October 26, 2019, at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nevada, winning via first round knockout (KO). He recorded two knockdowns prior to the stoppage. A month later, Zayas made his second appearance on November 30 with repeat performance of his debut, this time against Virgel Windfield. Like his previous match, he scored two knockdowns.

On December 17, 2018, Zayas met with advisor Peter Khan along his immediate family, having decided to turn professional. A new age requirement of 19 prevented him from pursuing a berth in the 2020 Summer Olympics and the insecurity of boxing’s inclusion in 2024 (due to long standing issues regarding the governance of AIBA, which led to a suspension by the IOC) played a role. Khan had known of the boxer since he was thirteen, through Centeno, and had brought the topic to Bob Arum and Brad Jacobs the month before. By January, several "high-powered promoters" had made offers, but it wasn't until February that Top Rank agreed to the terms that they were requesting, having completed a market study. He became the youngest boxer to sign a contract with the promotional house in the 53 years that had passed since its foundation. Inquired about the signing, Arum first emphasized his maturity, intelligence and overall talent, but also expressed his belief that Zayas could be the "first [great] Hispanic heavyweight champion of the world" due to having open growth plates and fairly tall relatives. Despite considering him a "quality young man" and having a feeling that mirrored his assessment of Oscar De La Hoya coming out of the 1992 Summer Olympics about the possibility of becoming "a big superstar", the promoter urged caution since he was a "work in progress" and the company had never handled someone that young.

At the age of eleven, he moved to Sunrise, Florida along his mother, sister and stepfather. Zayas enrolled in Sweatbox Boxing & Fitness at Davie. After his first trainer died, Zayas began training under Javiel Centeno, promising he would become his first world champion and demonstrating skills beyond his age. He credits the Nuyorican trainer with "perfecting [his] style with more technical stuff. It was very composed. He sat down and worked on every punch, every combination, every footwork, the head movement. We broke everything down and put it back together like a lego". When queried about the transition, Zayas said "[as] boxing styles, it was difficult at first because the style in Puerto Rico and the style here is very different, I had to adjust to the boxing in the United States. With time I did adjust". In his words, Zayas participated in USA Boxing competitions from this point onwards due to residence. Despite this, he intended to fight in Puerto Rico as a professional as soon as he met the minimum age requirement of 18 years. Zayas went on to win gold medal at the 2017 and 2018 U.S. National Championships.

Zayas' involvement with boxing began while living in the Cantera neighborhood of San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2007, when his mother took him to a gym so he could learn to defend himself from bullies. After winning his first amateur fight at the age of six, his career took off, winning 20 consecutive bouts. Zayas dominated the youth circuit for years, gathering the Puerto Rican national title in his division on five different occasions. It was after winning his third title at age ten that he decided this would be his profession. As a child, Zayas grew up admiring fellow Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto as he completed a Hall of Fame-career, with the former world champion's fights being the focus of family reunions. He also "used to watch videos of Tito Trinidad, Hector Macho Camacho, Wilfredo Benitez, all those great fighters that made Puerto Rico really proud and happy".

Xander Yarob Zayas Castro (born September 5, 2002) is a Puerto Rican professional boxer. In an amateur career that spanned from 2007 to 2018 he had more than 130 bouts, winning eleven national championship tournaments including the 2018 U.S. Youth National Championships.