By Dan Ambrose: Sebastian ‘Towering Inferno’ Fundora now wants unified 154-lb champion Jermell Charlo next after beating Erickson ‘The Hammer’ Lubin by a ninth-round stoppage last Saturday night to win the interim WBC junior middleweight title at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
Fundora is pulling for Charlo to defeat Brian Castano next month on May 14th for their undisputed 154lb championship in Carson, California.
A fight between Fundora and Charlo would be huge in the U.S, likely far bigger than a Castano-Fundora clash.
Fundora (19-0-1, 13 KOs) is the new star of this weekend’s fights, taking the limelight away from the popular social media icon Ryan Garcia with his exciting knockdown drag-out victory over #1 WBC Lubin.
If Fundora can beat the Charlo vs. Castano winning this year to become the undisputed champion at 154, he’s got the potential to be a mega-star. That would be a crushing blow to Jermell’s career to lose to Fundora, but it’s possible that it could happen unless Tim Tszyu gets to him first.
Fundora dropped Lubin in the second round but was later knocked down himself in the seventh round after getting nailed by several hard left hands from the 26-year-old.
Earlier in the round, Lubin’s face began to swell up badly from the high number of shots that Fundora had hit him with. Even though Lubin finished the seventh round strong with a knockdown, the damage had already been done to his face.
In the eighth round, Fundora came back and continued to
Charlo (34-1-1, 18 KOs) still needs to beat WBO champion Brian Castano in their rematch on May 14th for Fundora to get an opportunity to fight him.
Jermell is on Fundora’s radar
“Charlo has three of the belts right now. For him to win this, it’s not easily happening, but it’s the one that’s going to happen, and if we could do go and take it all from him, that would be great,” said Sebastian Fundora to Fighthype about preferring to face Jermell Charlo for all four titles in his next fight.
“I feel like we get the job done with him too,” said Fundora when asked how he matched up with Jermell. “He’s another fighter that likes to bang and trust his power. Just like him, we trust our power too, but I just think we’re stronger,” said Fundora.
In some ways, Charlo might be an easier fight for Fundora than Lubin turned out to be. Jermell can be outboxed, and he struggles against fighters that throw a lot of punches.
We saw what Castano did to Charlo last year by using his high volume punch output to dominate him in front of his own fans in Texas.
“Hell, yeah, I trust my chin. Yes, you don’t want to get hit as much as possible because you want to win the fight, obviously,” said Fundora when asked what went through his head when he was dropped by Lubin in the seventh round.
“I took the knee to collect myself. I got back up, and I got the job done,” said Sebastian. “You can say it was the hardest fight of my career. He made me take a knee and made me think a little bit.
Fundora knew he’d stop Lubin
“It was a great fight, and we gave both of us, Lubin and me, we gave the fight we wanted to for everybody,” said Fundora. “It was an inferno.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, if this [swollen right eye] wasn’t here, I’d go a million more rounds,” said Fundora when asked if he could have gone another ten rounds against Erickson.
“My condition is fine, but it was a tough fight. We can get a little rest. I was a little bit buzzed,” said Sebastian about being hurt in the seventh by Erickson. “My condition is 100%. I’m ready for anything.
“I think when I dropped him in the second round with an uppercut, I knew the uppercut was going to land again, again, again. The round that I took the knee [round seven], I felt we were dominating pretty good until we took that knee. Then in the round after [8th], we came back, and it was like the train never stopped.
“Of course,” said Fundora when asked if he wants IBF/WBA/WBC 154-lb champion Jermell Charlo next. “If we can win all the belts at once, why not? I want the champion next. This [interim WBC 154-lb strap] is only a small step towards it,” Fundora said.
Ellerbe: Fundora will be hard to beat
“The next one is the real thing hopefully, but if not, we’ll fight anybody at 154. We’re doing good,” said Fundora about his plans for his next match.
“Yeah, I knew he was going to get caught again,” said Fundora when asked if he felt he was going to win in the ninth round when Lubin began to hold nonstop and was no longer punching.
“Either he was going to get caught again, or the corner was going to stop it because I took a step back, and I saw his face. His face was a little too swollen already. I was like, ‘There’s no way he can see out of his eyes.’ So my prediction came true.
“You know how he says he’d won six fights in a row? I know he’d been thinking about how people make fun of his chin and all that. He’s a tough fighter, and he worked on that. I just know I hit hard too.
“I didn’t think this fight was going to go the distance, and we got the job done. When I dropped him [in round two], it was at the end of the round. Literally, when they finished the count, the round was over.
“I like, ‘That’s fine.’ He came back in the third round, and I knew he’d had a minute of rest. It was fine. I knew he was going to be fine,” Fundora said about Lubin.
“It was a great fight and a great stoppage by Kevin Cunningham. That’s why he’s one of the greatest trainers in the world,” said Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe to Fighthype in reacting to Sebastian Fundora’s win over Erickson Lubin.
“Fundora, he’s a volume puncher, and he’s a sharp puncher. Again, he’s a terrific fighter, and he’s going to be hard to beat. Got to get in those fights [against Jermell Charlo & Brian Castano], and he’s going to get the opportunity. It’s great for boxing fans,” said Ellerbe.