Sebastian Fundora poses a towering threat to Tim Tszyu

Sebastian Fundora’s poise is a reason why he is among the best 154-pound fighters in the world. So, he did not jump-and-down like a child on Christmas morning when he received the opportunity he has been waiting for his whole life on Sunday, March 17. When his promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz, called to say Keith Thurman fell out and Sebastian was going to be up next against WBO junior middleweight titlist Tim Tszyu, Fundora’s confidence beamed the way you would expect—let’s do it, he said, without hesitation.

The fight will be the main event this Saturday in Premier Boxing Champions’ inaugural Amazon Prime event from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which was spiced even more when the vacant WBC 154-pound title was made available.

Tszyu (24-0, 17 knockouts) is The Ring’s No. 1 154-pounder, and Fundora (20-1-1, 13 KOs) is rated No. 4 by The Ring.

Perhaps no fighter on the planet could make an about-face adjustment in two weeks’ time for a major title fight better than “The Towering Inferno,” a 6-feet-5½ southpaw with an 80-inch reach. Everyone Fundora fights is considerably shorter than him, so the fighter who will have to make the major adjustments is Tszyu.

“It has been a whirlwind week, but in a good way,” Fundora said. “When Sampson called last Sunday to tell my dad (Freddy) that the fight with Thurman fell through, but the fight could still go on if I was willing to take the fight. We had an idea of fighting Tszyu later on, but they told us Tszyu’s WBO belt is going to be on the line with the WBC as well, so without a doubt we said yes. I had the interim WBC belt, so this will be my first title fight. It just happens to be for two belts.

“This opportunity is a big surprise, but it is a good surprise. The way I was training we would be ready for what I would say anybody. The fast that we get this fight now, I would say everything is lined up right.”

Fundora was originally scheduled to face Serhii Bohachuk on the Tszyu-Thurman undercard, but when Thurman suffered a biceps injury, that forced a major switch for PBC to find a suitable substitute. Fundora appears to be the perfect fit. He is coming off a seventh-round knockout loss to Brian Mendoza last April.

Up until Mendoza hit Fundora with a left hook on the jaw, followed by a straight right to the face and another left, The Towering Inferno had been dominating the fight, way ahead on the scorecards, 60-54 (twice) and 59-55.

For a split-second, he let his guard and got caught.

“That was not really a learning experience as much as it was a reminder,” Fundora said. “You can’t keep your hands down, you can’t lean forward, those are the obvious no-nos in boxing. And paid big for it, and that’s what I got. I watched the fight all of the time. I know I was ahead and maybe that’s why I got a little lazy, because it was a little too easy. You can’t do that with boxing. To make a mistake like that, in a fight like that, you can’t do it.

“My dad tells it is like nothing happened. Of course, I want that rematch. With me, I’m fortunate to be supported by my family. As soon as we got home (after the Mendoza loss), my dog ran off. We had to go out and find him. He came back the next day. But I was kicking myself for a while. That’s boxing. I was back in the gym two days later. I think that mistake will always be in my brain. You just go on, and life goes on. God gave me the opportunity to fight for the belts. I am not much for talking, but someone will pay a price.”

Fundora credits Tszyu for his power and his pressure. The priority will be to use his long reach and keep Tszyu away, which Fundora is very capable of doing.

“What I like the most about myself right now is using my brain more,” he said. “I’m a smarter fighter. I’ve gone back to the basics.”

Gabriela Fundora, Sebastian’s younger sister, won the IBF flyweight title in October. He jokes that his younger sister beat him to being a world titlist. In the last fight, he got the chance to hold her belt. But he is coming right back at his baby sister.

“I support my sister 100-percent, but I was messing with her, after this fight, she will have to be carrying my two belts around and they are pretty heavy,” Sebastian said, laughing. “I am always used to fighting shorter fighters. Tszyu is going to have to adjust me to me than me to him, this is a big change for him. This is a championship fight and we will see what he brings. If the knockout comes, it comes.”

On Fundora’s shorts on Saturday he will be wearing a phoenix for the rebirth of The Towering Inferno.

Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been working for Ring Magazine/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Follow @JSantoliquito

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