LAS VEGAS – His eyes terribly swollen, his defeat inevitable, Keith Thurman nevertheless sought to make the case that referee Thomas Taylor should have let him fight on versus the ever-improving WBC 154lbs champion Sebastian Fundora.
“The fight was getting fun, the people were getting to their feet,” Thurman argued. “As an O.G., four more minutes … I had that long-term vision. The ref didn’t let me get there.
“I saw that Fundora gets a little sloppy around seven or eight [rounds]… the young guys, you’ve got to make them go hard, put them in that scenario where they’re getting way too comfortable… we were just getting to that sweet spot.”
The bout was instead declared a sixth-round TKO victory for Fundora, joining him with Manny Pacquiao as the only men to defeat Thurman while becoming the first to stop the former unified welterweight champion from Florida.
“I thought it was stopped at the right time. As soon as that eye was cut open, the doctor was looking at that eye and it was all purple. As soon as the sixth round started, I knew it would bust open, and it did. I didn’t want him to take any more damage,” Fundora said.
Now 24-1-1 with 16 knockouts after his third consecutive WBC 154lbs title defense, Fundora didn’t agree with Thurman’s assessment of a premature stoppage, but he did concur with the idea that he’s entered that sweet spot.
Asked who the 28-year-old wants to fight next, with everyone from the in-attendance former undisputed champion Jermell Charlo, ex-three-belt welterweight champion Errol Spence Jnr and others like WBC interim champion Vergil Ortiz, unified champion Xander Zayas and Jaron “Boots” Ennis in play, Fundora called out no one.
“I think I’m the best. They all need to come to me,” Fundora said.
Fundora, 28, indeed showed he poses a hellacious problem for all, starting with that staggering 80-inch reach that was 11 inches longer than Thurman’s and his ever-developing ability to connect on damning combinations that beat Thurman to a pulp.
“Sebastian knows he’s one of the best. The kid’s being smarter. He’s working behind his jab, He has a good fight plan,” Thurman said. “He’s growing. It’s his work ethic. Sebastian Fundora comes ready, has that distance, that grit, and if you’re talented, you still may not beat Sebastian Fundora.”
Trained by his father-cornerman, Freddy Fundora, while working alongside his undisputed flyweight-champion sister, Gabriela, in the Southern California mountains, Fundora said he never yielded control of the bout to Thurman.
After postponing his October bout with Thurman over a hand injury, Fundora said the hand was good enough to “punch through a brick wall if I wanted.”
Fundora said he remains willing to seek a unification or big fight, with his promoter, Sampsonn Lewkowicz, saying a date with unbeaten interim champion Ortiz Jnr will likely not happen because of Ortiz’s legal issues with promoter Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions.
“The worst part is when boxing management makes a mistake … and then it’s too late,” Lewkowicz said in reference to Ortiz manager Rick Mirigian. “Oscar De La Hoya treated that kid [Ortiz] very well.
“Why should we talk about Ortiz in this moment when he may not fight again for a another year or so and lose his WBC interim [belt]? Let’s talk about somebody else, and then I can tell you if it’s possible or not.
“But Ortiz is out of the game at this moment.”
