By Robert Segal: WBC 154-lb mandatory Sebastian ‘The Towering Inferno’ Fundora says he saw significant flaws in Jermell Charlo’s game in his performance last Saturday night against Brian Castano in their rematch.
With his size and high work rate, the 6’6″ Fundora could be the most formidable opponent of Charlo’s career by far, and he might be a step too far for the Texas native.
As we saw in Jermell’s two fights with Castano and Tony Harrison, he maxed out his ability. You could tell from watching those fights that Charlo has hit his ceiling regarding what he’s capable of doing.
Charlo seems fully aware of his limitations as a fighter. If he fights anyone above the level of Castano & Harrison, he’ll go down to defeat. Hence, that could be why he shut down the discussion of a fight between him and Tim Tszyu and Fundora when it was brought up at the post-fight press conference last Saturday night.
WBC mandatory Fundora (19-0-1, 13 KOs) says Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) doesn’t like pressure from his opponents, and that’s what he plans on using to unseat the undisputed 154-lb champion.
With that said, Fundora isn’t sure when he’ll be getting his mandatory title shot, as Charlo has other defenses that he must make if he chooses to hold onto his four titles.
Although Jermell showed some improvements in his game from his first fight with Castano (17-1-2, 12 KOs) last July, he still looked uncomfortable when he was being pressured, and his work rate wasn’t that much higher than the last time they fought.
“He can’t handle pressure. I don’t think he’s not a fan of pressure that much, but his power is still there. Castano got careless, and he got caught,” said Sebastian Fundora to Fighthype about his thoughts on Jermell Charlo after watching him defeat Brian Castano last Saturday night.
“I’m the stronger fighter between Castano and me. I’m another pressure fighter, and I like to put pressure as well. We’ll see when that fight happens.
“I’m the mandatory, I should be next, but there are all these other mandatory’s too. We’ll see what happens, but if I can get next, I’ll definitely take it,” said Fundora to Boxtalk101.
Charlo will be turning 32 this week on May 19th, and you can see from looking at his appearance that he’s aging. He’s not the same fighter that fought Tony Harrison twice, and he’s not going to hold onto his four straps, even if he swerves Fundora & Tszyu. If Charlo was smart, he’d take on the 24-year-old Fundora next because if he waits, it will only worsen.
“As soon as possible,” said Fundora when asked when he wanted to get back in the ring. “As soon as I get the call, I’m going to get ready. Tony Harrison is #1 with the WBC.”
“Hard work pays off. That’s what I keep doing, and that’s what I keep trying with every fight. We’re ready for this title shot.”
