Sebastian Fundora is on the precipice of something huge after only 19 professional fights. And that was the plan.
The 6-foot-6 junior middleweight contender is scheduled to face Erickson Lubin on April 9 in Los Angeles (Showtime), with the winner becoming the WBC’s mandatory challenger. A showdown for the undisputed championship against the winner of the May 14 Jermell Charlo-Brian Castano rematch could come next.
“We’re at the right place at the right time,” Fundora, 24, told Boxing Junkie. “I felt like that my whole career. In my 10th fight, I would be fighting on TV. In my 15th fight, I would be in the rankings. And around my 20th fight, this is where I thought I’d be.
“My dad [and trainer] would say I’d be 24, 25 [years old] when I’d be fighting for a title.”
NEXT FIGHT: @EricksonHammerL (24-1-0) takes on the 6'5 ½" @SebastianFundo1 (18-0-1) in a clash for the WBC Super Welterweight Interim Title on @ShowtimeBoxing on April 9. #LubinFundora #PBConShowtime
📰: https://t.co/U9WuYQKx4A pic.twitter.com/zYCh7w4zPk
— Premier Boxing Champions (@premierboxing) March 27, 2022
That doesn’t mean Fundora (18-0-1, 12 KOs) is unusually excited going into the biggest fight of his career. At least he doesn’t show it.
He was asked whether it’s fair to call his fight against Lubin (24-1, 17 KOs) the biggest test of his young career and he responded, “I suppose.” That’s as demonstrative as he gets.
He has already fought on nationwide television multiple times, including his unanimous-decision victory over Sergio Garcia on the Dec. 5 Gervonta Davis-Isaac Cruz pay-per-view card in Los Angeles.
To him, the fight with No. 1-ranked Lubin feels like more of the same. He’s No. 2.
“I feel good about this just like the rest of them,” he said. “No pressure. I take each fight as they come, step by step. Each step is planned and everything. We take it as we go. … These last places I fought, Staples Center and Cowboys Stadium, those were just as exciting. I wasn’t fighting for a title but they were eliminators as well.
“It’s always exciting but this is my life. I know what comes with it.”
Not even provocative comments from Lubin’s trainer, Kevin Cunningham, could get Fundora worked up.
Cunningham said he saw weaknesses in Fundora’s defense that his fighter could exploit. And Cunningham compared the matchup to the classic Marvin Hagler-Thomas Hearns fight, suggesting that the fans will most likely see a knockout.
“He can say whatever he wants,” Fundora said. “I can see a knockout … maybe not in their direction. We’ll see how the fight plays out. Not every fight is a knockout, but we’ll win this fight.”
If he does, he hopes it will lead directly to a showdown with the Charlo-Castano winner for all four major 154-pound belts.
Fundora and Co. didn’t exactly plan to become an undisputed champion in his 21st fight – which would instantaneously make him one of the most-significant stars in the sport – but he’d happily take it.
Of course, he takes even that prospect in stride.
“I really hope so,” he said in a matter-of-face tone. “I’ve been going [up] the rankings. The last one was No. 2. Now I’m fighting No. 1. And I’ll be champion after that. Whoever wins [the Charlo-Castano] fight, hopefully I’ll get him next.”