Fundora vs. Mendoza will take place on Saturday, April 8 live on SHOWTIME from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif., The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
By Craig Daly: WBC interim junior middleweight champion Sebastian ‘The Towering Inferno’ Fundora will be defending his 154-lb belt in the main event against #12 IBF-ranked Brian Mendoza on April 8th on Showtime.
Fundora, 25, needs to stay busy while he waits for his eventual title shot against undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo, who is out with a hand injury and expected to face the winner of the Tim Tszyu vs. Tony Harrison bout once he’s fully healed.
Fundora, 6’5 1/2″, didn’t look good in his last fight, having problems with the power of Carlos Ocampo and being forced to box his way to a dull 12 round unanimous decision last October in Carson, California.
WHAT TIME IS FUNDORA VS. MENDOZA?
- Date: Saturday, April 8
- Start time: 2 a.m. GMT / 9 p.m. ET
- Main event ringwalks (approx): 4 a.m. GMT / 11 p.m. ET
- The fight takes place at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
- Watch the fight live on Showtime in the US
- The event is set to get underway at 2 a.m. GMT / 9 p.m. ET with the main event ringwalks scheduled for 4 a.m. GMT / 11 p.m. ET.
Earlier in his career, Ocampo was stopped in the first round by a body shot from Errol Spence Jr in 2018. Obviously, no one is comparing the lanky Fundora to a talent like Spence, but it’s difficult not to judge Sebastian’s performance to his, as he was nowhere near as dominating against Ocampo as Errol had been.
Fundora looked timid and cowed by the power and aggression of Ocampo, which makes some boxing fans speculate whether Sebastian’s war with Erickson Lubin last year in April has suddenly made him gunshy and afraid to mix it up with his opponents like he’d been doing his entire seven-year professional career.
Lubin dropped Fundora in the seventh round and had him hurt. Surprisingly, Lubin didn’t jump on Fundora to look to finish him off, which turned out to be a mistake.
For Fundora to defeat Brian Mendoza, he’s going to need to war with him for a certain amount of time because he’s going to be pressured, and he won’t be able to keep him on the outside like he successfully did in the second half of his fight against Ocampo.
The heavy-handed Mendoza is coming off a fifth round knockout victory over former IBF & WBA 154-lb champion Jeison ‘Banaana’ Rosario (23-4-1, 17 KOs) last November at the Armory, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mendoza dropped Rosario in the second and fifth rounds.
In 2021, the 29-year-old Mendoza was beaten by undefeated junior middleweight contender Jesus Ramos (19-0, 15 KOs) by a 10 round unanimous decision. Mendoza’s other career defeat came against Larry Gomez, losing an eight round split decision in November 2019.
FUNDORA vs MENDOZA CARD
- Sebastian Fundora vs. Brian Mendoza; For Fundora’s WBC interim super welterweight championship
- Brandun Lee vs. Pedro Campa
- Luis Reynaldo Nunez vs. Christian Olivo Barreda
- Gabriel Maestre vs. Devon Alexander
- Frank Sanchez vs. Daniel Martz
- Gabriela Fundora vs. Maria Micheo Santizo
- Adrian Corona vs. Jerry Perez
- Chris Arreola vs. Mathew McKinney
- Gabriel Garcia vs. Marco Diaz
- Viktor Slavinskyi vs.Juan Antonio Lopez,
- Justin Viloria vs. Sirdarious Smith
- Federico Pacheco Jr vs. Felipe Torres