Fighter of the Week (3/25-3/31): Sebastian Fundora
On an absolutely loaded week of professional pugilism, one man's performance towered above all others. A 6'7 inch KO artist coming off a brutal one-punch KO loss and taking a world title shot against a surging undefeated world champion made "The Towering Inferno" Sebastian Fundora, of Coachella, California, massive longshots and he scored almost no respect from the oddsmakers and boxing pundits and experts. Completely undeterred, Fundora grinded out an incredible 12-round split decision win over Tim Tszyu to make history and joined his sister as a world champion, picked up the WBC and WBO junior middleweight titles, and moved his record to 21-1-1(13).
After a close and contested opening round to the Tsyzu-Fundora fight, the fight seemed to make a turn in the second round when Tszyu suffered a wicked elbow that opened up a gnarly gash high on his forehead. The blood never stopped gushing into Tszyu's eyes. The ringside physician threatened to halt the fight several times. However, Tszyu bit down and never complained and never stopped coming, fighting and giving the Towering Inferno hell.." I'm an old, throwback fighter," said Tszyu, who entered the night rated No. 2 by ESPN at 154 pounds. "I couldn't see, but all credit goes to the man who won tonight. These things happen. The momentum was rolling, swinging hard in the first two rounds, and then boom, you're blinded completely. Tszyu appeared to be getting the better of Fundora before the cut. The Australian landed some clean power shots down the stretch to cut into the lead that Fundora built up. However, Fundora sensationally closed the show. Pumping out the jab and pouring in clean and precise power shots. Fundora stopped the momentum of the champ and secured the final round and thus the fight. Judges ruled for Fundora by scores of 116-112 and 115-113, with the third judge being the odd man out scoring for Tszyu by a score of 116-112.
As Keith Thurman kicks himself after seeing how flawed Tsyu is, Fundora has put himself in a great position. The California native is going to be a fan favorite given his unique physical stature as well as his TV-friendly style, and he is going to have a highly entertaining next fight. There are two possibilities, rematch with the Australian, which will again be a highly entertaining, offensively friendly slugfest, or if the former champs ops out of the rematch, Fundora will almost certainly be looking at a showdown with Errol Spence, the former long-reigning welterweight champion, which will also promise to be an all-action slugfest. Either way, Fundora becomes a fan favorite, and the boxing fan is a winner.
