Tim Tszyu – Syndication Server

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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Bloody mess: Photos from Sebastian Fundora’s gruesome upset of Tim Tszyu

Bloody mess: Photos from Sebastian Fundora’s gruesome upset of Tim Tszyu on Saturday in Las Vegas.

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.

Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) suffered a deep cut on his hairline when his head collided with Fundora’s elbow in the third round, making it difficult for the Aussie to see. Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs) also bled from his nose and mouth.

Here are images from the fight. All photos by Steve Marcus of Getty Images.

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Sebastian Fundora upsets Tim Tszyu in bloody brawl to become unified champion

Sebastian Fundora upset Tim Tszyu in a bloody brawl to become a unified 154-pound champion Saturday in Las Vegas.

Sebastian Fundora was fortunate. He was also good. That combination resulted in the biggest victory of his life.

Fundora used his jab and a high work rate to upset Tim Tszyu by a split decision in a horribly bloody fight to become a unified 154-pound titleholder – his first major championships – on Saturday night 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.

Why was Fundora lucky? Tszyu couldn’t see.

The Aussie got off to a strong start, working his way past his 6-foot-5½ opponent’s long jab to land several eye-catching punches that seemed to portend a strong performance from the champion.

Then, in Round 3, everything changed in an instant.

Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) 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, although he never gave up.

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

Tszyu tried to overcome the monumental adversity – a giant opponent, a red haze – and had some good rounds, when he landed the cleaner, harder shots. That evidently won over one judge. However, Fundora stayed the course, outworking his favored opponent to have his hand raised.

The victory seemed particularly unlikely given that he had to contend with his own bloody nose and mouth, he was coming off a knockout loss to Brian Mendzoa and he took the fight less than two weeks ago, when Keith Thurman pulled out with a biceps injury.

Nevertheless, after taking Tszyu’s WBO belt and the vacant WBC title, he’s a world champion.

“Like I told you in the locker room, we’ve been praying for this moment for a long time,” Fundora said in the ring. “I’m just happy that Tim Tszyu gave me this opportunity and the opportunity became a dream come true.”

Fundora was asked about his battle with blood coming from his nose and mouth. His response could apply to both him and Tszyu.

“This is boxing, you’re going to get hurt,” he said. “I just gotta be smart. I’ve been telling everyone this whole camp that I’m going to use my brain, use my brain.

“I hope you guys saw me use my boxing skills today and you enjoyed it.”

Fundora also made unusual history with his victory. He and sister Gabriela Fundora reportedly are the only brother and sister to hold world boxing titles simultaneously in the history of the sport.

The new unified 154-pound champ credited his father and trainer, Freddy Fundora, who trains both of his offspring.

“It means the world,” Sebastian Fundora said. “Now I think my dad’s in the running for trainer of year. He did it (guiding two fighters to world titles) in six months. Without him, I wouldn’t be anywhere.

“Without him, our whole family would be nowhere near boxing. I’m so grateful.”

Meanwhile, Tszyu had to try to make sense of his first loss coming in strange and unfortunate circumstances.

He was asked what kept him going with blood in his eyes.

“I told you, I’m an old, throwback fighter, whatever the circumstances,” he said. “I couldn’t see but all credit goes to the man who won tonight. These things happen. The momentum was swinging hard in the first two rounds and then, boom, you’re blinded completely.

“This is boxing,” he added, echoing Fundora. “This is part of the sport. These things happen. Congrats to Fundora, the new king of 154.”

The determination Tszyu demonstrated in the fight certainly will carry over as he moves forward.

He can legitimately say that bad luck played as significant a role as Fundora did in his fate, which should take some of the sting out of his disappointment. He’ll let the cut heal, get back into the gym and then pursue what he believes is his destiny: a special place in boxing history.

“Look, we’ll bounce back,” he said. “… I showed up no matter what. And I always bring the fight. I was given one week [to prepare] but no excuses. I’ll fight whoever, whatever. Errol Spence is here. I’ll fight him, as well as Terence Crawford.

“If you want a good scrap, you know who to call.”

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Isaac Cruz sizzles in eighth-round knockout of overmatched Rolando Romero

Isaac Cruz made a loud statement by battering and then stopping Rolando Romero in eight rounds to win his first major title Saturday.

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 on the Tim Tszyu-Sebastian Fundora card Saturday in Las Vegas.

The fight was stopped 56 seconds into Round 8.

“I’m very happy and humbled to win this title for my family and for Mexico,” said Cruz, who was the target of trash talk from Romero leading up to the fight. “I was prepared for this. I wasn’t here to just fight. I was here to terminate him. …

“I did my talking right here in the ring. And I did this not just for me but for everybody that is here at T-Mobile Arena. There’s going to be a Mexican champ at 140 pounds for a long time.”

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 the inevitable.

The new champion continued to walk Romero down, pounding him to every legal target on the body as the old champ jabbed, moved, held and sometimes fired back in an attempt to survive. Romero caught Cruz with solid shots coming in on occasion 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.

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Isaac Cruz sizzles in eighth-round knockout of overmatched Rolando Romero

Isaac Cruz made a loud statement by battering and then stopping Rolando Romero in eight rounds to win his first major title Saturday.

Isaac Cruz has officially arrived.

The fight was stopped 56 seconds into Round 8.

“I did my talking right here in the ring. And I did this not just for me but for everybody that is here at T-Mobile Arena. There’s going to be a Mexican champ at 140 pounds for a long time.”

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 the inevitable.

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.

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.

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Erislandy Lara stops Michael Zerafa with massive left hand in second round

Erislandy Lara evidently is far from finished at 40. The WBA middleweight titleholder from Cuba stopped Michael Zerafa in the second round to retain his belt on the Tim Tszyu-Sebastian Fundora card Saturday in Las Vegas. Nothing much happened until …

Erislandy Lara evidently is far from finished at 40.

The WBA middleweight titleholder from Cuba stopped Michael Zerafa in the second round to retain his belt on the Tim Tszyu-Sebastian Fundora card Saturday in Las Vegas.

Nothing much happened until the violent ending, as each fighter used the first one-plus rounds to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the other.

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 a corner, which convinced referee Allen Huggins that the challenger was in no condition to continue. And no one objected to the stoppage.

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

Lara was making the second defense of his title. He also had a long reign as a 154-pound champion.

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Erislandy Lara stops Michael Zerafa with massive left hand in second round

Erislandy Lara evidently is far from finished at 40.

The WBA middleweight titleholder from Cuba stopped Michael Zerafa in the second round to retain his belt on the Tim Tszyu-Sebastian Fundora card Saturday in Las Vegas.

Nothing much happened until the violent ending, as each fighter used the first one-plus rounds to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the other.

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

Lara was making the second defense of his title. He also had a long reign as a 154-pound champion.

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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.