Sebastian Fundora just knew he was at the doorstep of a Fighter of the Year run after the conclusion of his most recent ring appearance.
A repeat win over Tim Tszyu ended in far more dominant fashion the second time around, when Fundora battered the former WBO 154lbs titlist into submission after seven rounds last July. It marked his second successful defense of the WBC title and left room for the 6ft 6in southpaw to return for a third time in 2025.
Fundora and Keith Thurman were originally due to meet last October 25 in Las Vegas. It would have been Fundora’s most active year since 2020 and – with a win over the former unified titlist Thurman – the perfect follow-up to the 2024 Fighter of the Year campaign enjoyed by his younger sister and undisputed flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora.
However, a hand contusion forced Sebastian, the reigning WBC 154lbs titlist, to the sideline.
“It would have been a big statement, but everything happens for a reason,” Fundora told BoxingScene. “We didn’t get that third fight in, so it just wasn’t meant to be. We were trying to get that back-to-back Fighter of the Year for our family, but there’s always this year for both of us to shine.”
Gabriela already helped the Fundora family to a strong start in 2026 with a knockout win over Viviana Ruiz earlier this month in Anaheim, California. Two weeks later, it’s the elder Fundora’s turn to contribute ahead of his rescheduled title defense versus Thurman, 31-1 (23 KOs).
The two meet Saturday atop a PBC on Prime Video pay-per-view event from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
More important than getting the fight back on the books is the fact that Fundora, 23-1-1 (15 KOs), is back at full health.
“It was a blessing in disguise,” Fundora said of the delay. “Everything is timed and planned the way it’s supposed to be. We got two fights in, thought we’d get that third, but it allowed me to refocus. I really want to make a statement, and it’s important that I’m at full health for a fight like this.”
Fundora will attempt the third defense of the WBC belt he claimed in his first win over a then-unbeaten Tszyu in March 2024. He also won the WBO 154lbs title that evening, but he parted ways with it last spring when he moved forward with his contractually bound rematch with Tszyu in lieu of a mandatory title defense versus Xander Zayas.
Wedged in between his two wins over Tszyu was a fourth-round knockout of Chordale Booker last March 22 at Michelob ULTRA Arena. Fundora now returns to MGM Grand for the third time in his career and second straight occasion – the famed venue hosted his second fight with Tszyu, which came as the co-feature to the Mario Barrios-Manny Pacquiao WBC 147lbs title fight.
A six-years-younger version of the legendary Pacquiao is responsible for the lone loss on Thurman’s record. That moment also took place at MGM Grand, where Thurman suffered a first-round knockdown en route to a split decision defeat in July 2019.
The loss came two fights into Thurman’s comeback following a two-year absence to heal an assortment of injuries. He entered the fight as one of the tentpoles of the PBC brand, having defeated Robert Guerrero in the company’s first-ever event back in March 2015 on NBC.
Thurman also topped PBC’s first shows on ESPN and CBS, and has long served as a face of the company.
That type of history is not lost on Fundora, who – at 28 and in the prime of his career – hopes to become the present-day face of the company.
“It’d be great to start the next chapter of my career by closing the book on his,” Fundora noted. “They asked me where I wanted this fight. I pick Vegas every single time. This will be my third fight at MGM and, I guess, my third win. It’s a nice way to pick up where we left off last year.”
That would be Fundora’s way of saying he intends to extend his current knockout streak.
He and his sister racked up four combined wins inside the distance in as many fights in 2025. Gabriela added another earlier this year to make it five in a row without going to the scorecards for the unbeaten flyweight queen.
A dominant win by Sebastian will keep his name deep in the conversation of the current best junior middleweights in the world. He is joined by Zayas, now a unified WBA and WBO titleholder, Jaron “Boots” Ennis, Vergil Ortiz Jnr and recently crowned IBF titlist Josh Kelly.
“If I get to wave a magic wand and say this is how my 2026 will go, yeah, definitely, one of those names sometime this year,” insisted Fundora. “There’s a lot of talent in this division, a lot of great young fighters. A few years ago, Charlo had a belt. Banana [Jeison Rosario] had a couple of belts, Julian Williams was the champ before him, Jarrett Hurd before J-Rock.
“That’s how I feel now with Zayas and all these guys. Naturally, I think I’m the best in the division and I want to prove it against those guys. So we’ll see what’s meant to happen. Maybe this will be the year when I add a Fighter of the Year award to our [family] collection.”
