NEW YORK, NY — It’s tough to beat champions and opponents looking to dethrone others who have had success in boxing history. It requires technique, adjustments, and the ability to adapt during the moment. Then again, we have seen the upset and how it has evolved over the years.
Saturday night in Las Vegas, Keith Thurman, a once unified welterweight champion, had never been stopped without a decision being the factor, his one loss was to eight-division and Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao who has since returned and is vying for another title.
Even at 36-years of age and with setbacks, Thurman wanted to continue against the taller and power of “The Towering Inferno” Sebastian Fundora, the WBC Super Welterweight champion. A fight pushed back from October because Fundora sustained a hand injury and Thurman was seeking to become a two-division champion.
Thurman was battered and it warranted for referee Thomas Taylor to wave it off at the 1:17 mark of round six.
Thurman objected and later claimed Taylor should not be allowed to officiate another championship fight, but it was the correct call. Fundora was relentless and was headed to a knockout and the risk of severe injury to Thurman was a concern.
No knock on Thurman, he called for this challenge. But this was not the same Thurman in his prime against Pacquiao or the time he dethroned Shawn Porter for the welterweight title at the Barclays Center in 2016.
No, this was the younger and more dominant 26-year-old Fundora, towering at six feet and five and a half inches, a superstar and destined now to continue a quest seeking unification with an opportunity. The question is how to adjust and defeat Fundora, that remains to be determined but it is difficult.
“There’s all kinds of big names I want to fight,” said Fundora. “154 is the best division right now. Whoever wants it next can get it.”
That comment moments after his title defense defined the picture, Fundora is the one they have to chase in order to put some unity to what is a highly contested division with champions Xander Zayas of Puerto Rico (the WBA and WBO champ), Josh Kelly (the IBF title-holder), and Jaron “Boots” Ennis, the WBA interim champion, who reportedly has signed to fight Zayas in a unification bout at the Barclays Center this June.
Also there is Vergil Ortiz Jr, the interim WBC champion, waiting for an opponent after his supposed fight with Ennis was pulled due to a legal battle with his Hall of Fame promoter Oscar De La Hoya. Regardless, Fundora will wait, he is being chased and a commodity for any promotion that books his next title defense.
The PBC umbrella will make that decision along with his management, this fight with Thurman at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas and the Prime PPV and PPV.com telecast showed why Fundora is a commodity and destined for more.
His size advantage works and the skills improve each time, this after a left that punished Thurman from the second round on. Fighters who have been in there with Fundora will say the Mexican-American is tough to beat and Thurman would be the first to say so even as he protested the stoppage.
Sebastian Fundora proved to be too much for Keith Thurman Saturday night in Las Vegas as their bout came to an early stoppage by referee Thomas Taylor in the sixth round – Image Credit: Sean Michael Ham/Premier Boxing Champions
“The fight was getting really good,” said Thurman. “The fans were loving the action and the referee stopped the fight too early. They don’t have the guts to let the fights go on like the Erik Morales days. He talked to me and said if I was moving my feet he wouldn’t stop the fight. I wasn’t on the ropes taking shots. It was very unfortunate to not give the fans a better show. Win, lose, or draw, I thought it was a little bit premature. I had more in me.”
But the more was with Fundora (24-1-1, 16 KO’s) who is destined to unify the division, earn more lucrative pay days, and become a force that will be tough to beat with his height that is definitely an advantage. He said 154 is his world and now those going for the chase will try and find an answer that Thurman could not.
In a co-main event battle of former interim 154-pound champions, Yoenis Tellez (12-1, 8 KOs) scored a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over Brian Mendoza (23-5, 17 KOs) after 10 grueling rounds. It was Mendoza who placed the lone blemish on the record of Fundora on a seventh round KO back in April of 2023.
The fight nearly came to an early end in round three, when Tellez was on the receiving end of an accidental head-butt that sent him down with a broken and bloodied nose. After using nearly the whole five minutes allowed to recover, Tellez rose to his feet and resumed the action.
“My corner lifted me up and they got me back into the fight,” said Tellez. “When you’re a warrior, you don’t show any weakness, but I had trouble breathing. There’s no doubt. The pain was a 10 out of 10, but I’m a warrior and my corner told me I had the courage and that I could get this win.”
Rich Mancuso is a senior writer and columnist at LatinoSports.com with coverage of MLB, boxing, and MLS – X:@Ring786, Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso
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