The now-unified super welterweight champion Xander Zayas was preparing for his title unification fight against Abass Baraou at the time he got the call. And the call? It came from Bad Bunny—more precisely, the latter’s team. They wanted the Puerto Rican boxer to be a part of Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show this past weekend as an homage to Purto Rico’s rich boxing history. 

It didn’t take Zayas long to say yes, but he had an obstacle ahead of him—the Baraou fight. Fortunately, he cleared that obstacle on January 31, becoming the youngest active unified male world champion. A later the day finally came, and Zayas, alongside Mexican-American fighter Emiliano Vargas, took part in the Super Bowl halftime show. And today, he is reflecting on it. 

Xander Zayas played dominoes with Bad Bunny

“I have a great relationship with Benito(Bad Bunny),” Zayas told The Boys in the Back. “They came to us a couple of weeks before my fight and asked if I wanted to be in the halftime show because he wanted to have fighters in it.” When asked what moments leading up to the show felt like, Zayas didn’t hold back. 

“The day of, there was very big energy—not just from me, but from everybody in the cast,” Zayas added. “Everyone was so amped up. You could tell it was an amazing atmosphere.” Notably, Zayas had shared pictures on social media with with the Puerto Rican star, who also signed the trunks Zayas was wearing during the performance.

He was also pictured with Lady Gaga and several other celebrities during the event. So, when he was asked what it felt like, Zayas claimed it reminded him of heading into one of his fights. “It kind of reminded me of going into fight night, just being in the locker room and trying to stay as cool as possible,” Zayas said during the interview. 

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He and the rest of the crew had been rehearsing for the performance throughout the week. And the game of dominoes was a huge part of those preparations. “The way [Benito stays cool and relaxed] is by playing dominoes and having fun with it—and that’s exactly what we did,” Zayas said. While Zayas clearly had a blast performing at the Super Bowl, not everyone did. 

Jake Paul causes a ruckus online, just to take a U-Turn

The Puerto Rican rapper had criticized ICE and the Trump administration’s immigration policies during his Grammys acceptance speech. So, Jake Paul, who is a long-time Trump supporter, didn’t take kindly to Bunny’s performance in the Super Bowl LX halftime show. He asked his fans to “turn off” their televisions, adding that Bunny was a “fake American.”

This didn’t translate well, since many thought Paul, who lived in Puerto Rico, didn’t recognize Puerto Rico as part of America. Then came the backlash, and it didn’t take long for Paul to buckle under his own tweets. Even though he tried to clarify, the damage was done. “Moreso Bunny is fake bc of his values and criticism of our great country,” Paul wrote in one of his tweets. 

So, he went into damage control mode. “Guys, I love Bad Bunny, idk what happened on my Twitter last night ?? wtf,” Paul later tweeted. Despite this, even his own brother, Logan Paul, who had previously claimed that he wasn’t excited about Bunny’s performance at the halftime show, tweeted against Jake Paul. 

“I love my brother, but I don’t agree with this,” Logan Paul wrote on X. “Puerto Ricans are Americans & I’m happy they were given the opportunity to showcase the talent that comes from the island.”

Looks like Xander Zayas and Jake Paul had completely different experiences during the Super Bowl LX halftime show. One took part in the biggest attraction on Sunday, and the other faced widespread backlash for his comments about it. Who do you think came out the winner?