Less than two weeks from fight night, long-time welterweight champion Keith Thurman injured a biceps in training on Sunday and was forced to withdraw from his super welterweight bout against Tim Tszyu on March 30 the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions in Las Vegas. Sebastian Fundora, who was supposed to fight Serhii Bohachuk on the undercard, will move up to replace Thurman in the main event in the bout for the WBC and WBO belts. The event will still be on pay-per-view, distributed via Amazon Prime Video.
ThaBoxingVoice broke the news of Thurman's injury on Twitter.
It's a devastating injury for the 35-year-old Thurman, who hasn't fought since a Feb. 5, 2022, unanimous decision victory over Mario Barrios at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
Fundora will represent a dramatic change for Tszyu. Thurman is 5-7 with a 69-inch reach and is an orthodox boxer. Fundora is a 6-5 southpaw with an 80-inch reach, but the show will go on.
It's a good match for Fundora, who suffered his first professional defeat in his last outing, when he was knocked out by Brian Mendoza in the seventh round on April 8, 2023, in Carson, Calif. A win over Tszyu would be the biggest of his career and help him regain his momentum.
The co-main event remains a super lightweight bout between Isaac "Pitbull" Cruz and Rolly Romero.
Bohachuk promoter Tom Loeffler told KevinIole.com that Bohachuk will fight Brian Mendoza for the interim WBC title, with the winner becoming the mandatory for the WBC title. It was perhaps the best possible resolution for Bohachuk and deepens the card with another solid fight.