Zayas Says Rehydration Clause Halted Fundora Talks

Xander Zayas has offered his version of why a fight with Sebastian Fundora never came together last year, describing a stalled negotiation that ultimately turned on a rehydration clause.

According to Zayas, the WBC junior middleweight champion asked for a rehydration limit as part of the deal for a fight at 154 pounds. Zayas said the request immediately raised concerns on his side, particularly given the circumstances of the bout.

“He wanted a fight, then he didn’t want to fight. Then he sent a rehydration clause,” Zayas told the InsideRingShow. “I feel like it was a lot of excuses for a guy that is 6’5”. He’s the biggest guy in the division.”

Zayas said his team rejected the clause outright, noting that the fight was not for the IBF title, which carries a mandatory 10-pound rehydration rule, and was not being staged in a jurisdiction where such limits are standard.

“That was all that was said. ‘We’ll accept the fight, but he’ll have to do a rehydration clause,’” Zayas said. “And we’re like, ‘We’re not doing that. It doesn’t make sense.’ We weren’t fighting for the IBF, and we weren’t fighting in London. There was no need for it.”

Fundora’s size has long been a talking point at 154 pounds, and the request stood out given that he is one of the largest fighters in the division.

Once the clause entered the conversation, the talks stalled and never picked back up.

Zayas didn’t speculate on why the request was made, but his reaction made clear it wasn’t something he was prepared to negotiate around. From his side, it was a condition that shut the door on the fight before discussions ever moved beyond the basics.

It’s a familiar outcome in modern boxing. Fights often fall apart well before contracts are signed, not over purses or dates, but over details like weight limits and rehydration terms that quietly decide whether a matchup ever gets out of the planning stage.