FOLLOWING a year away from the ring, reigning WBC and WBO super-welterweight champion Sebastian Fundora returned with a bang, knocking out Chordale Booker in four rounds. Contrary to outside opinion, Fundora has been training hard and waiting patiently for his ring return. Any frustration was dished out on Booker in Las Vegas.
“I felt ready this whole time. I’ve been working very, very hard this past year. We went back into camp back in May last year. After that Tszyu fight, I know there was a misunderstanding of me having a broken nose. We were working the whole time, and now I successfully defended my two titles.”
Safe in the knowledge that if he defends his WBO title five times, he can become a ‘Super’ champion, Fundora reckons the sky’s the limit. He is closer to the clouds than most and the 154-pound division has a few challengers circling for attention. Fundora showed the fans that he can punch and has the power to concern any opponent.
“You know what’s funny about this camp? We didn’t even have a southpaw in. So it was just catching the footwork,” he revealed.
“He was moving a lot. I don’t think he really wanted to trade at all. And we were just waiting to wear him down. [I] touched him in the body, I think, the third round, and he started slowing down a lot. So we worked off of that, and it worked out.”
With super-welterweight currently one of the deepest divisions in boxing, Fundora might not have the complete pick of opponents, but his options are open.
“I’d love to be undisputed champion like my sister [Gabriela, the reigning women’s flyweight champion], the youngest undisputed champion in the world. But whoever they have for me next, whether it’s the IBF champion, Bakhram [Murtazaliev] or [Errol] Spence. I’d like to fight him as well.
“We just got told that the WBO mandatory is the Puerto Rican kid, Xander Zayas. Talented fighter. Whoever. We have two belts. We have to defend them and if anybody’s willing to unify, let’s do that too.”
