Weekend Review: Sebastian Fundora seizes opportunity, Isaac Cruz serves notice

A critical look at the past week in boxing BIGGEST WINNER Sebastian Fundora Give Fundora full credit. Sure, he was fortunate when his elbow collided with Tim Tszyu’s head and caused a deep cut on the champion’s hairline in the third round, …

A critical look at the past week in boxing

BIGGEST WINNER
Sebastian Fundora

Give Fundora full credit. Sure, he was fortunate when his elbow collided with Tim Tszyu’s head and caused a deep cut on the champion’s hairline in the third round, effectively blinding him from then on. That’s boxing, the fighters agreed afterward. Crazy things happen. Sometimes they become insurmountable obstacles, which was the case for Tszyu. Sometimes they’re opportunities, which you either seizer or squander. Fundora did the former. The 6-foot-5½ physical anomaly came in with a good game plan, which was to finally commit to using his height and reach advantages. And he simply stayed the course after the cut occurred, pumping his jab into Tszyu’s face and following with enough power shots to keep him at a safe distance and win rounds. As a result, Fundora won a split decision to take Tszyu’s WBO 154-pound belt and win the vacant WBC title. Some will look back on the victory and say Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs) was lucky, lucky to get the fight immediately after a knockout loss to Brian Mendoza, lucky to win it because of a freak accident. The fact is he was both lucky and good, which is a combination that’s difficult to beat. He did what he had to do in strange circumstances to realize a lifelong dream.

 

BIGGEST WINNER II
Isaac Cruz

No one is going to be in a hurry to face this little monster. Cruz used his typical nonstop pressure to batter WBA 140-pound titleholder Rolando Romero before finally stopping him in the eighth round to win his first major belt on the Fundora-Tszyu card. Romero had the right strategy. He tried to slow Cruz down by timing him with hard shots when he was coming in and using his feet to avoid dangerous exchanges. However, it was like trying to protect yourself from a tsunami with a cocktail umbrella. It was impossible. Romero didn’t have the power to give Cruz pause, not even once. That made the result inevitable. And it raised a legitimate question: Can anyone hurt “Pitbull,” whose chin would make Julio Cesar Chavez and Marvin Hagler proud. It took a great fighter in Gervonta Davis to beat this version of Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs). And “Tank” was barely able to have his hand raised. A victory over the limited Romero (15-2, 13 KOs) doesn’t prove that Cruz can beat or even compete on the same level as the 140-pound likes of Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez but an indestructible little punching machine isn’t the ideal opponent for anyone. That includes the best in the division.

 

RABBIT PUNCHES

I feel strongly that Fundora and his handlers should give Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) an immediate rematch. The champion gave the challenger an opportunity to fight for the title on short notice even though the adjustment from averaged-sized Keith Thurman to a giant would be difficult. And, obviously, Tszyu was the victim of terrible luck. The right thing to do is to give him a chance to avenge the defeat in the next fight for both men. … Tszyu will be back. I still feel he’s a better fighter than Fundora, as he seemed to show in the first few rounds. If he gets a rematch, I think he’ll win. If he doesn’t, he’ll continue to beat top contenders and become a champion again sooner rather than later. … I wouldn’t be too hard on Romero for his pre-fight trash talk. He was selling the fight and himself, which is what promoters hope to see. But, yes, he had to eat his words. He learned the hard way that Cruz was the opposite of an easy mark. …

Erislandy Lara (30-3-3, 18 KOs)  isn’t as good as he once was at 40 but he’s still better than almost anyone else, as he demonstrated against Michael Zerafa (31-5, 19 KOs) on the Fundora-Tszyu undercard. The 160-pound titleholder stopped his Australian opponent with a vicious left hand less than two full rounds into the fight, proving again that he has more to give even though he was returning from a 22-month layoff and has lost a step late in his career. One thing he still has working for him is his boxing acumen, which is as sharp as ever. And who knew he could become a knockout artist? He has stopped his last three opponents. We’ll see whether he will continue to have success against next-level opposition. I won’t be surprised if he does. … Julio Cesar Martinez (21-3, 15 KOs) was fortunate to get past pesky Angelino Cordova (18-1-1, 12 KOs) on the Fundora-Tszyu card. The WBC 112-pound champ never really figured out his awkward opponent, who peppered him with light punches and never stood still. However, the champ never lost focus and continued to bring the heat. That resulted in a majority decision victory in his seven title defense, including one no-contest. Martinez doesn’t have pound-for-pound talent but he is consistent. …

Serhii Bohachuk (24-1, 23 KOs) was taken the distance for the first time but still tuned in an excellent performance against Mendoza (22-4, 16 KOs) on the Fundora-Tszyu card, suffocating his veteran opponent with nonstop pressure and winning a one-sided decision. If you can hurt Bohahuck — as Brandon Adams did his his KO victory over the Ukrainian — you have a chance to beat him. If you can’t, it’s going to be difficult to get past him. He appears to be a threat to anyone at 154 pounds. … Floyd Mayweather protégé Curmel Moton (3-0, 2 KOs) might’ve been the most talented fighter on the Fundora-Tszyu card. The 17-year-old 130-pound prospect battered a pretty good opponent in Anthony Cuba (7-1-2, 3 KOs) to win a shutout decision in an eight-round fight. Moton is remarkably skillful and poised for his age. It seems possible to me that he could win a major title as a teenager, which is a rarity. … Gilberto Ramirez (46-1, 30 KOs) made history on Saturday in Inglewood, California, easily outpointing the naturally bigger Arsen Goulamirian (27-1, 19 KOs) to become the first Mexican to win a 200-pound title. Ramirez isn’t a great fighter but he’s an excellent, durable boxer who knows how to win fights, the only exception being his setback to the gifted Dmitry Bivol. Mexicans should be proud of their countryman. …

Oscar Valdez (32-2, 24 KOs) is back in business after stopping Liam Wilson (13-3, 7 KOs) in seven rounds to win the WBO “interim” 130-pound title Friday in Glendale, Arizona. He could be elevated to full champion if titleholder Emanuel Navarrete moves up in weight as planned. It remains to be seen whether Valdez can beat a top talent after losses to Shakur Stevenson and Navarrete.

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Julio Cesar Martinez drops Angelino Cordova twice, wins majority decision

Julio Cesar Martinez dropped Angelino Cordova twice and defeated him by a majority decision Saturday in Las Vegas.

Julio Cesar Martinez did just enough to hold onto his 112-pound belt.

Martinez never really figured out challenger Angelino Cordova but dropped the Venezuelan twice and defeated him by a majority decision in the seventh defense of his title on the Tim Tszyu-Sebastian Fundora card Saturday in Las Vegas.

One judge had it 113-113 but he was overruled by the other two, both of whom had it 114-112 for Martinez. Boxing Junkie also scored it 114-112 for Martinez, six rounds apiece.

Cordova (18-1-1, 12 KOs) got off to a strong start, taking the fight to a surprised Martinez (21-3, 15 KOs) and landing more consistently in the first few rounds.

Then came the most dramatic moments of the fight. Cordova walked into two stiff left jabs in Round 3 and ended up on his behind both times, giving Martinez a 10-7 round and all the momentum.

The rest of the fight followed a pattern. The fleet Cordova was the busier boxer and rarely stood still, which made it difficult for Martinez to get into a rhythm and find his target.

However, Martinez clearly landed the cleaner, harder shots when he did connect, seeming to hurt Cordova several times.

Martinez suffered a gruesome cut on his left eye brow in Round 10, the result of an accidental clash of heads, but he was allowed to continue and he continued to take the fight to Cordova.

Martinez has now won three consecutive fights since he lost a one-sided decision when he moved up in weight to challenge then-115 pound champion Roman Gonzalez in 2022.

Julio Cesar Martinez drops Angelino Cordova twice, wins majority decision

Julio Cesar Martinez dropped Angelino Cordova twice and defeated him by a majority decision Saturday in Las Vegas.

Julio Cesar Martinez did just enough to hold onto his 112-pound belt.

Martinez never really figured out challenger Angelino Cordova but dropped the Venezuelan twice and defeated him by a majority decision in the seventh defense of his title on the Tim Tszyu-Sebastian Fundora card Saturday in Las Vegas.

One judge had it 113-113 but he was overruled by the other two, both of whom had it 114-112 for Martinez. Boxing Junkie also scored it 114-112 for Martinez, six rounds apiece.

Cordova (18-1-1, 12 KOs) got off to a strong start, taking the fight to a surprised Martinez (21-3, 15 KOs) and landing more consistently in the first few rounds.

Then came the most dramatic moments of the fight. Cordova walked into two stiff left jabs in Round 3 and ended up on his behind both times, giving Martinez a 10-7 round and all the momentum.

The rest of the fight followed a pattern. The fleet Cordova was the busier boxer and rarely stood still, which made it difficult for Martinez to get into a rhythm and find his target.

However, Martinez clearly landed the cleaner, harder shots when he did connect, seeming to hurt Cordova several times.

Martinez suffered a gruesome cut on his left eye brow in Round 10, the result of an accidental clash of heads, but he was allowed to continue and he continued to take the fight to Cordova.

Martinez has now won three consecutive fights since he lost a one-sided decision when he moved up in weight to challenge then-115 pound champion Roman Gonzalez in 2022.

Photos: Tim Tszyu, Sebastian Fundora make weight for Saturday’s fight

Photos: Tim Tszyu and Sebastian Fundora on Friday made weight for their title fight Saturday night.

Tim Tszyu and Sebastian Fundora on Friday made weight for their title fight Saturday night on pay-per-view from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Both men came in at 152.8 pounds, 1.2 below the division limit.

Tszyu (24-0, 17 KOs) and Fundora (20-1-1, 13 KOs) will be fighting for Tszyu’s WBO belt and the vacant WBC title.

The weights for the other fights on pay-per-view:

  • Rolando Romero (139.6) vs. Isaac Cruz (138.8), junior welterweights (for Romero’s title)
  • Erislandy Lara (158.6) vs. Michael Zerafa (159.8), middleweights (for Lara’s WBA title)
  • Julio Cesar Martinez (111.6) vs. Angel Cordova (111.8), flyweights (for Martinez’s WBC title)

Here are images from the weigh-in. All photos by Esther Lin and Ryan Hafey for Premier Boxing Champions.

[lawrence-related id=41192,41188,41173,41166,41162]

Tim Tszyu vs. Sebastian Fundora: LIVE updates, results, full coverage

Tim Tszyu vs. Sebastian Fundora: LIVE updates, results, full coverage.

Sebastian Fundora upset Tim Tszyu by a split decision to become a unified 154-pound champion in a horribly bloody fight Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

One judge had Tszyu winning 116-112 but the other two scored it for Fundora, 116-112 and 115-113. Boxing Junkie also had Fundora winning 116-112, eight rounds to four.

Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) got off to a strong start, getting past his 6-foot-5½ opponent’s jab to land some eye-catching punches that seemed to portend a strong performance.

Then everything changed in an instant. In Round 3, Tszyu suffered a deep cut on his hairline when his head collided with Fundora’s elbow. Blood gushed into his eyes for the remainder of the fight, impairing his sight and ability to fight effectively.

And Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs) took full advantage. The “Towering Inferno,” a brawler at heart, used his long jab and timely power shots to keep Tszyu at a safe distance round after round.

Tszyu tried to overcome the monumental adversity and had some good rounds, when he landed the cleaner, harder shots. However, Fundora stayed the course, outworking his favored opponent to pull out the biggest victory of his career.

Fundora, coming off a knockout loss to Brian Mendoza, became Tszyu’s opponent on short notice when Keith Thurman pulled out with an injury. Now, after taking Tszyu’s WBO belt and the vacant WBC title, he’s a world champion.

You can read a full report here.

***

Isaac Cruz has officially arrived.

The relentless “Pitbull” battered WBA140-pound titleholder Rolando Romero before finally stopping him in the eighth round to win his first major world championship.

The official time of the stoppage was :56 of Round 8.

Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs) did his thing from the opening bell, which is to plow forward and wing hard punches to the head and body. Romero (15-2, 13 KOs) tried to counter, tried to get out of the way but simply had no answer for the onslaught.

Cruz almost took Romero out in the opening round when he rocked him with a left hook to the temple. Romero survived but that only prolonged his struggle.

The new champion continued to walk Romero down, pounding him to every legal target on the body as the old champ jabbed, moved, held or sometimes fired back in an attempt to survive. Romero had moments when he caught Cruz with solid shots coming in but he never fazed the Mexican once, which seemed to seal his fate.

Cruz again almost took out Romero in the final minute of Round 7, when he battered Romeo around the ring and took nothing in return. Again, Romero survived.

The end came the following round when Cruz unloaded a vicious flurry of hard, accurate shots that seemed to paralyze Romero, which prompted referee Thomas Taylor to jump between them to stop the action.

Cruz has now won four consecutive fights since he was outpointed by WBA 135-pound champ Gervonta Davis in 2021.

Romero is now 1-2 in his last three fights. He was stopped by Davis in six rounds in 2022.

***

WBA middleweight titleholder Erislandy Lara stopped Michael Zerafa in the second round to retain his belt.

Nothing much happened until the violent ending, as each fighter was in the process of assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the other for one-plus rounds.

Lara (30-3-3, 18 KOs) evidently figured it out quickly. In the final seconds of Round 2, Zerafa missed a left jab, and Lara, a southpaw, countered with a right and then a straight left to the chin that put Zerafa onto his back and hurt him badly.

Zerafa (31-5, 19 KOs) was able to get to feet but stumbled into corner, which convinced referee Allen Huggins that the challenger was in no condition to continue. No one objected to the stoppage.

The official time of the knock out was 2:59, meaning one second remained in the round.

Lara, 40, was making the second defense of his title.

***

Julio Cesar Martinez dropped Angelino Cordova twice in the third round and defeated him by a majority decision to retain his 112-pound title in his seventh defense.

One judge had it 113-113 but he was overruled by the other two, both of whom had it 114-112 for Martinez. Boxing Junkie also scored it 114-112 for Martinez, six rounds apiece.

Cordova (18-1-1, 12 KOs) got off to a strong start, taking the fight to Martinez (21-3, 15 KOs) and landing more consistently in the first few rounds.

Then came the most dramatic moments of the fight. The Venezuelan walked into two stiff left jabs in Round 3 and ended up on his behind both times, giving Martinez a 10-7 round.

The rest of the fight followed a pattern. The fleet Cordova was the busier boxer and rarely stood still, which made it difficult for Martinez to get into a rhythm and find his target. However, Martinez clearly landed the cleaner, harder shots when he did connect, seeming to hurt Cordova several times.

Martinez suffered a gruesome cut on his left eye brow in Round 10, the result of an accidental clash of heads, but he was allowed to continue and he continued to fight hard.

***

Brian Mendoza couldn’t overcome Serhii Bohachuk’s relentless pressure.

Bohachuk (24-1, 23 KOs) had Mendoza (22-4, 16 KOs) fighting on his heels from the opening bell, outworking his opponent and ultimately delivering a significant beating to win a one-sided decision and the WBC “interim” 154-pound title.

The official scores were 118-110, 117-111 and 117-111. Boxing Junkie also had it 117-111, nine rounds to three.

Bohachuk was unable to put Mendoza down or seriously hurt him but he landed power shots almost at will to win round after round, which accounts for the scoring.

Mendoza, a strong puncher, had some good moments in the entertaining fight, but he couldn’t land the punch or combination of punches to derail the speeding Ukrainian train.

Bohachuk, whose previous 23 victories came by knockout, has now won six consecutive fights since he was stopped by Brandon Adams in 2021. He also bolstered his position as a genuine title contender.

Mendoza has now lost back-to-back fights after his sensational knockout of Fundora in April of last year. Tszyu outpointed him in October.

***

Floyd Mayweather protege Curmel Moton, a 17-year-old junior lightweight prospect, defeated Anthony Cuba by a shutout decision in an entertaining eight-round fight.

All three judges had the same score, 80-72.

Moton (3-0, 2 KOs) dominated Cuba (7-1-2, 3 KOs) from the opening bell, outboxing and outworking his 21-year-old opponent. Cuba, who obviously has a good chin, took everything thrown at him but he didn’t have the tools to keep pace with Moton.

Moton had stopped his previous two opponents in the first round.

***

Note: Middleweight contender Elijah Garcia was scheduled to fight Kyrone Davis on the Tsyzu-Fundora undercard but Garcia pulled out because of illness.

***

Tim Tszyu and Sebastian Fundora are scheduled to fight for Tszyu’s WBO 154-pound belt and the vacant WBC title on a deep card Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Also on the show:

  • Rolando Romero vs. Isaac Cruz, junior welterweights (for Romero’s WBA title) (PPV)
  • Erislandy Lara vs. Michael Zerafa, middleweights (for Lara’s WBA title) (PPV)
  • Julio Cesar Martinez vs. Angelino Cordova, flyweights (for Martinez’s WBC title) (PPV)
  • Elijah Garcia vs. Kyrone Davis, middleweights

The featured portion of the show is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. (main event later in the show).

Boxing Junkie will post results, as well as a brief summary, immediately after the featured fights end. Simply return to this post and refresh when the time comes.

Full coverage – detailed fight stories, analysis and more – will follow on separate posts the night of the card and the following day.

Enjoy the fights!

[lawrence-related id=41188,41173,41166,41162,41119,36644]

Tim Tszyu vs. Sebastian Fundora: LIVE updates, results, full coverage

Tim Tszyu vs. Sebastian Fundora: LIVE updates, results, full coverage.

Sebastian Fundora upset Tim Tszyu by a split decision to become a unified 154-pound champion in a horribly bloody fight Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

One judge had Tszyu winning 116-112 but the other two scored it for Fundora, 116-112 and 115-113. Boxing Junkie also had Fundora winning 116-112, eight rounds to four.

Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) got off to a strong start, getting past his 6-foot-5½ opponent’s jab to land some eye-catching punches that seemed to portend a strong performance.

Then everything changed in an instant. In Round 3, Tszyu suffered a deep cut on his hairline when his head collided with Fundora’s elbow. Blood gushed into his eyes for the remainder of the fight, impairing his sight and ability to fight effectively.

And Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs) took full advantage. The “Towering Inferno,” a brawler at heart, used his long jab and timely power shots to keep Tszyu at a safe distance round after round.

Tszyu tried to overcome the monumental adversity and had some good rounds, when he landed the cleaner, harder shots. However, Fundora stayed the course, outworking his favored opponent to pull out the biggest victory of his career.

Fundora, coming off a knockout loss to Brian Mendoza, became Tszyu’s opponent on short notice when Keith Thurman pulled out with an injury. Now, after taking Tszyu’s WBO belt and the vacant WBC title, he’s a world champion.

You can read a full report here.

***

Isaac Cruz has officially arrived.

The relentless “Pitbull” battered WBA140-pound titleholder Rolando Romero before finally stopping him in the eighth round to win his first major world championship.

The official time of the stoppage was :56 of Round 8.

Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs) did his thing from the opening bell, which is to plow forward and wing hard punches to the head and body. Romero (15-2, 13 KOs) tried to counter, tried to get out of the way but simply had no answer for the onslaught.

Cruz almost took Romero out in the opening round when he rocked him with a left hook to the temple. Romero survived but that only prolonged his struggle.

The new champion continued to walk Romero down, pounding him to every legal target on the body as the old champ jabbed, moved, held or sometimes fired back in an attempt to survive. Romero had moments when he caught Cruz with solid shots coming in but he never fazed the Mexican once, which seemed to seal his fate.

Cruz again almost took out Romero in the final minute of Round 7, when he battered Romeo around the ring and took nothing in return. Again, Romero survived.

The end came the following round when Cruz unloaded a vicious flurry of hard, accurate shots that seemed to paralyze Romero, which prompted referee Thomas Taylor to jump between them to stop the action.

Cruz has now won four consecutive fights since he was outpointed by WBA 135-pound champ Gervonta Davis in 2021.

Romero is now 1-2 in his last three fights. He was stopped by Davis in six rounds in 2022.

***

WBA middleweight titleholder Erislandy Lara stopped Michael Zerafa in the second round to retain his belt.

Nothing much happened until the violent ending, as each fighter was in the process of assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the other for one-plus rounds.

Lara (30-3-3, 18 KOs) evidently figured it out quickly. In the final seconds of Round 2, Zerafa missed a left jab, and Lara, a southpaw, countered with a right and then a straight left to the chin that put Zerafa onto his back and hurt him badly.

Zerafa (31-5, 19 KOs) was able to get to feet but stumbled into corner, which convinced referee Allen Huggins that the challenger was in no condition to continue. No one objected to the stoppage.

The official time of the knock out was 2:59, meaning one second remained in the round.

Lara, 40, was making the second defense of his title.

***

Julio Cesar Martinez dropped Angelino Cordova twice in the third round and defeated him by a majority decision to retain his 112-pound title in his seventh defense.

One judge had it 113-113 but he was overruled by the other two, both of whom had it 114-112 for Martinez. Boxing Junkie also scored it 114-112 for Martinez, six rounds apiece.

Cordova (18-1-1, 12 KOs) got off to a strong start, taking the fight to Martinez (21-3, 15 KOs) and landing more consistently in the first few rounds.

Then came the most dramatic moments of the fight. The Venezuelan walked into two stiff left jabs in Round 3 and ended up on his behind both times, giving Martinez a 10-7 round.

The rest of the fight followed a pattern. The fleet Cordova was the busier boxer and rarely stood still, which made it difficult for Martinez to get into a rhythm and find his target. However, Martinez clearly landed the cleaner, harder shots when he did connect, seeming to hurt Cordova several times.

Martinez suffered a gruesome cut on his left eye brow in Round 10, the result of an accidental clash of heads, but he was allowed to continue and he continued to fight hard.

***

Brian Mendoza couldn’t overcome Serhii Bohachuk’s relentless pressure.

Bohachuk (24-1, 23 KOs) had Mendoza (22-4, 16 KOs) fighting on his heels from the opening bell, outworking his opponent and ultimately delivering a significant beating to win a one-sided decision and the WBC “interim” 154-pound title.

The official scores were 118-110, 117-111 and 117-111. Boxing Junkie also had it 117-111, nine rounds to three.

Bohachuk was unable to put Mendoza down or seriously hurt him but he landed power shots almost at will to win round after round, which accounts for the scoring.

Mendoza, a strong puncher, had some good moments in the entertaining fight, but he couldn’t land the punch or combination of punches to derail the speeding Ukrainian train.

Bohachuk, whose previous 23 victories came by knockout, has now won six consecutive fights since he was stopped by Brandon Adams in 2021. He also bolstered his position as a genuine title contender.

Mendoza has now lost back-to-back fights after his sensational knockout of Fundora in April of last year. Tszyu outpointed him in October.

***

Floyd Mayweather protege Curmel Moton, a 17-year-old junior lightweight prospect, defeated Anthony Cuba by a shutout decision in an entertaining eight-round fight.

All three judges had the same score, 80-72.

Moton (3-0, 2 KOs) dominated Cuba (7-1-2, 3 KOs) from the opening bell, outboxing and outworking his 21-year-old opponent. Cuba, who obviously has a good chin, took everything thrown at him but he didn’t have the tools to keep pace with Moton.

Moton had stopped his previous two opponents in the first round.

***

Note: Middleweight contender Elijah Garcia was scheduled to fight Kyrone Davis on the Tsyzu-Fundora undercard but Garcia pulled out because of illness.

***

Tim Tszyu and Sebastian Fundora are scheduled to fight for Tszyu’s WBO 154-pound belt and the vacant WBC title on a deep card Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Also on the show:

  • Rolando Romero vs. Isaac Cruz, junior welterweights (for Romero’s WBA title) (PPV)
  • Erislandy Lara vs. Michael Zerafa, middleweights (for Lara’s WBA title) (PPV)
  • Julio Cesar Martinez vs. Angelino Cordova, flyweights (for Martinez’s WBC title) (PPV)
  • Elijah Garcia vs. Kyrone Davis, middleweights

The featured portion of the show is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. (main event later in the show).

Boxing Junkie will post results, as well as a brief summary, immediately after the featured fights end. Simply return to this post and refresh when the time comes.

Full coverage – detailed fight stories, analysis and more – will follow on separate posts the night of the card and the following day.

Enjoy the fights!

[lawrence-related id=41188,41173,41166,41162,41119,36644]

Tim Tszyu vs. Sebastian Fundora: Unpacking a deep, interesting card

Tim Tszyu vs. Sebastian Fundora: Unpacking a deep, interesting card.

The Tim Tszyu vs. Sebastian Fundora pay-per-view card Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas is unusually deep even though Tszyu lost his original opponent.

Tszyu had been scheduled to defend his 154-pound title against Keith Thurman but Thurman pulled out a few weeks ago with a biceps injury, after which Fundora agreed to take the veteran’s place in the main event.

Here is a look at the featured fights on the show, including the most interesting thing about each of them.

 

Tim Tszyu (24-0, 17 KOs) vs. Sebastian Fundora (20-1-1, 13 KOs)

Division: Junior middleweight (154 pounds)
At stake: Tszyu’s WBO and vacant WBC titles
Most interesting thing about it: I would rather have seen Tszyu defend his belt against Thurman because of Thurman’s history. However, it will be fascinating to see whether the 5-foot-8½ Tszyu can chop down his 6-5½ opponent, as Brian Mendoza did in October. Fundora seems vulnerable after his first setback but he has had success at a high level.
Who wins?: Fundora’s only advantages are his height and reach, which won’t be enough against Tszyu. The beltholder will adjust to Fundora’s dimensions and break him down. Tszyu KO 8.

 

Rolando Romero (15-1, 13 KOs) vs. Isaac Cruz (25-2-1, 17 KOs)

Division: Junior welterweight (140 pounds)
At stake: Romero’s WBA title
Most interesting thing about it: Can Romero keep Cruz off of him? That’s the mission of everyone who faces the relentlessly aggressive Mexican, whose only loss since early in his career was a close decision against Gervonta Davis. Romero will have to use his jab and timely counter shots to get Cruz’s respect to have his hand raised. It won’t be easy.
Who wins?: Romero has the power to get Cruz’s attention but not enough to deter his unusually fit, durable opponent. Cruz will outwork Romero and win a clear decision.

 

Erislandy Lara (29-3-3, 17 KOs) vs. Michael Zerafa (31-4, 19 KOs)

Division: Middleweight (160 pounds)
At stake: Lara’s WBA title
Most interesting thing about it: What does Lara have left at 40? The possible future Hall of Famer from Cuba holds a major title and continues to win fights but his opposition has been suspect. Plus, he’s more willing to exchange punches with his opponents than he used to be. That presumably is the result of him losing a step in terms of his speed and reflexes.
Who wins?: Lara. He isn’t what he once was but he remains as clever as ever and has retained enough of his physical tools to beat Zerafa, a good, rugged but limited fighter.

 

Julio Cesar Martinez (20-3, 15 KOs) vs. Angelino Cordova (18-0-1, 12 KOs)

Division: Flyweight (112 pounds)
At stake: Martinez’s WBC title
Most interesting thing about it: Is Angelino Cordova the real deal? The Venezuelan came out of nowhere to deliver two eye-opening performances, decision victories over one-time title challenger Axel Aragon Vega and former champ Angel Acosta. However, Martinez, making his seventh title defense, is a significant step up in opposition.
Who wins?: Cordova’s impressive little run ends here. Martinez won’t overwhelm his capable opponent but he’ll wear him down with his relentless aggression and stop him.

 

Elijah Garcia (16-0, 13 KOs) vs. Kyrone Davis (18-3-1, 6 KOs)

Division: Middleweight (160 pounds)
At stake: No major titles
Most interesting thing about it: This is a significant test for Garcia. The 20-year-old prodigy has overwhelmed second-tier opponents with his ability and power, which has generated excitement. Davis is a step up for him. The 29-year-old veteran is an excellent technician with experience in big fights. And he’s tough. Only the naturally bigger David Benavidez has stopped him.
Who wins?: Davis will give Garcia problems with his skillset but he doesn’t have the power to keep Garcia off of him for 10 rounds. Garcia will take him out late in the fight.

 

Brian Mendoza (22-3, 16 KOs) vs. Serhii Bohachuk (23-1, 23 KOs)

Division: Junior middleweight (154 pounds)
At stake: No major titles
Most interesting thing about it: Power vs. Power. Mendoza demonstrated the destructive nature of his punches with his brutal knockout of Fundora. And all 23 of Bohachuk’s victories have come by stoppage, which leaves little doubt about his ability to hurt opponents. Thus, this could be the most entertaining fight on the card. Don’t blink.
Who wins?: Mendoza might be the more durable fighter. That will allow him to take Bohachuk’s punches and deliver his own. Mendoza by late KO.

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