Sebastian Fundora is now down to one major title.
A decision by the 6’5 ½” junior middleweight and his team to secure a rematch with Tim Tszyu in lieu of an ordered mandatory title defense against Xander Zayas resulted in the end of his WBO junior middleweight title reign. The sanctioning body confirmed that Fundora was stripped of the belt in a ruling obtained by BoxingScene.com.
“It is hereby resolved that… Fundora is hereby stripped his WBO Jr. Middleweight champion status, effective immediately,” declared WBO Championship Committee chairman Luis Batista-Salas. “[The] WBO Jr. Middleweight Championship is declared VACANT, effective immediately.”
As previously reported by BoxingScene’s Lance Pugmire, Fundora, 22-1-1 (14 KOs) is now set to defend his WBC junior middleweight title against Australia’s Tszyu, 25-2 (18 KOs) on July 19 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The same venue hosted their first meeting last March 31, won by Fundora via split decision to claim Tszyu’s WBO title and the vacant WBC belt.
The decision to proceed with the rematch came just days ahead of a WBO-scheduled purse bid hearing planned for Friday to determine promotional rights for Fundora-Zayas.
Fundora was ordered to next face Zayas, 21-0 (13 KOs) on March 24, just two days after his knockout win over Chordale Booker in a voluntary title defense.
The two sides asked for an extension following the initial deadline, creating false hope that a deal could be reached. They remained far apart on money and never fully saw eye to eye on the preferred location, all of which contributed to the bout being sent to a May 2 purse bid hearing.
Upon BoxingScene’s report that Fundora opted to move in a different direction, the WBO reached out to the unified titlist seeking clarification. More so than taking another fight, Fundora jeopardized the WBO portion of his title reign by not going through the proper channels.
“Mr. Sebastian Fundora has knowingly failed to comply with a valid, binding, and enforceable obligation as mandated by this Committee,” noted Salas. “Which was imposed as a condition for the retention of his title and reaffirmed in multiple resolutions.
“Mr. Fundora failed to request or obtain prior written authorization from the WBO to engage in the bout publicly announced for July 2025 against Mr. Tszyu, and no justification has been presented for failure to comply with the mandatory defense order. In light of the foregoing, and in compliance with the WBO’s obligation to safeguard the integrity of its World Championships and enforce its rules uniformly, this Committee is compelled to act decisively.”
The ruling did not specify that Zayas would next face Jorge Garcia Perez for the title, just that the belt is now vacant.
Nor will Terence Crawford, 41-0 (31 KOs), receive an upgrade to full titlist from his current interim WBO beltholder status. The four-division champ is waiting out the result of the Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez-William Scull undisputed super middleweight championship, given wide reports of a rumored Alvarez-Crawford clash likely to take place in September.
Crawford directly acknowledged the possibility of the fight in a written request to the WBO, where he could keep his interim title status until the super fight is formally announced.
Fundora previously had his feet held to the fire when it came time to enter talks for a mandatory title defense against Crawford last fall. The principle condition of his jumping the line to face Tszyu was that the winner had to face Crawford by no later than September 30, 2024.
That deadline was extended when Fundora – through promoter Sampson Lewkowicz – filed an injury exemption. The WBO honored the request and subsequently permitted Crawford to fight for its interim belt. It came in his August 3 points win over Israil Madrimov, where he also claimed the WBA junior middleweight title which he still holds.
Since it’s clear that Crawford will not return to the division, Zayas will await further instructions on his first major title fight.
“The WBO Championship Committee shall immediately convene to determine the next available and eligible contenders to contest for the vacant WBO Jr. Middleweight Championship title in accordance with the Regulations,” the ruling stated in determining next steps.
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