MORENO VALLEY, California – As Sebastian Fundora prepares to make another junior middleweight title defense next week, the comic mismatch in size has once again been on display.
At their news conference, former unified welterweight champion Keith Thurman stood on a chair to appear the same height as Fundora at face-off.
At 6ft 3ins, Southern California’s Kevin Anton won’t need to participate in such gamesmanship with the 6ft 6ins WBC titleholder Fundora, and with each passing knockout, the idea of them meeting becomes less and less of a laughing matter.
Anton, a 12-0 (11 KOs) southpaw, will return to the ring Saturday night on the ProBox TV card headlined by the WBC interim super middleweight bout pitting unbeaten Lester Martinez versus Immanuwel Aleem at the National Orange Show in San Bernardino, California.
Following inactivity amid different representation that limited the 27-year-old Palmdale, California, fighter to just one bout over nearly 15 months, Anton will be fighting for the fifth time under the ProBox banner since January 2025 when he meets Uzbekistan’s Kudratillo Abdukakhorov, 22-5 (14 KOs), on Saturday.
“It feels good to be with a promotion that has my back,” Anton told BoxingScene (which is owned by ProBox TV CEO Garry Jonas). “I’ve just been sticking to the plan, and we’re here, finally.”
Staying busy is the catchphrase for Anton, both in accepting fights and letting his punches rip in voluminous fashion.
Blessed with that Fundora-like whipping reach advantage, Anton showcased his ideal fight scheme by battering Mexico’s Isaias Lucero over seven rounds last September and stopping him for the first time.
“Look, you can’t prepare for opponents who throw so many punches nonstop. It breaks you down,” Anton advisor Robert Diaz said. “His last fight, against Lucero, a very tough, very durable guy who hadn’t been stopped. What happened? He stopped him. Why? Because it’s, ‘Look I can’t breathe, I need a timeout.’
“That’s what I’m looking for [with Abdukakhorov]: another statement fight, get him in the top 15 in the world. And, obviously, once you’re in that position, it’s just a matter of time.”
Easier said than done. ProBox TV has ramped up the competition with a more experienced 32-year-old who has been stopped just once in 179 pro rounds.
“This guy’s tall, I know, but if I work hard, I can knock him out,” Abdukakhorov said. “One punch can change everything. I’m stronger than my opponent.”
The pair sparred each other years ago. Anton believes adhering to his recent style is a formula that will take him to the top.
“That’s me. I know different fighters have different bodies,” Anton said. “I use whatever skills I have to my advantage, and do it because I see it keeps frustrating them. That’s the name of my game.
“I know he’s from Uzbekistan, and those fighters are really tough. He also has a lot of great experience, too, so that will mean a lot for me if I can accomplish this mission successfully.”
Victory could propel Anton into the rankings, heightening the pursuit of Fundora, who resides across Southern California hills from Anton in Tehachapi.
“I feel like it should [get me in the rankings], but we’ll find out after,” Anton said. “I feel it will definitely put me up higher and get people to talk about what I’m doing.”
Diaz said Anton being half Guatemalan on this card with Martinez attempting to become the first Guatemalan world belt holder should inspire.
“I’m hoping he rises to the occasion and also represents his country very well,” Diaz said.
Doing so places Fundora within reach.
“In the future, that will be a great fight,” Anton said. “We both have similar styles, fight plans and characteristics, so it’ll be a fan-friendly fight and I’m pretty sure it can be done in the future.”
Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.
