If American Express reprises its iconic ‘Do you know me’ commercials, Sebastian Fundora might be the perfect candidate to star in the remake.
He’s a unified super welterweight world champion who won the belts from Tim Tszyu in a 2024 Las Vegas slugfest, one bloodier than the 2005 WWE classic between Triple H and Ric Flair.
The cliche about defense winning championships doesn’t apply to Fundora.
“The best defense is offense,” he said. “If you’re not punching, they’re gonna be punching you. There’s only one thing in boxing. It’s simple: You have to throw punches.”
If they doled out Fight of the Night bonuses in boxing, Fundora would need to hire a new accountant to figure out the tax implications. Bloodbath or brawl, Fundora’s done it all.
Beyond the sport’s insiders, though, he hasn’t cracked through, despite a gregarious personality, a telegenic style and enough quality opponents to keep him busy for the new few years.
At 6 feet 6 inches and 154 pounds, he’s the super welterweight division’s answer to Manute Bol. His nickname, ‘The Towering Inferno,’ isn’t solely about his height. It’s also a nod to the fire he brings in the ring.
Standing nine inches taller than challenger Chordale Booker, Fundora will defend his titles in Saturday's main event at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
But the inferno part of the nickname is really a better indicator of what to expect when Fundora pops up on your TV: Things get heated when he starts throwing punches.
So, the tall task — Get it? — facing Fundora is this: Find out a way to keep the belts while also expanding his profile.
Courtesy PBC
Sebastian Fundora (R) left Tim Tszyu a bloody mess in their 2024 bout.
Fundora’s relative anonymity isn’t due to any shortcomings on his part, but rather is symptomatic of boxing’s place in today’s sports landscape. While he’s earned his titles and put on some electrifying performances, the next challenge for Fundora is to not only keep his belts but to build a profile worthy of his skills in a sport that is often dominated by louder, more recognizable names.
The division’s biggest star is Terence Crawford, the pound-for-pound great who holds the WBA title and is the interim WBO champion. Crawford will move up in September to fight Canelo Alvarez at 168 pounds.
But Vergil Ortiz. Jr., who holds the interim WBC belt, is coming off back-to-back enthralling victories over Serhii Bohachuk and Israil Madrimov and has a bigger profile than Fundora.
The bout on Saturday is one of those opportunities for Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs) to look good. At DraftKings sportsbook, Fundora is a whopping -1400 favorite to win and a -200 favorite to win by knockout. At -1400, a bettor would have to drop $1,400 in order to earn a $100 profit.
He had potential bouts with Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. fall though, which would have given him the opportunity to build his reputation against established stars.
Fundora turned 27 in December, but showed wisdom beyond his years as he explained his mindset. He’s not using the massive odds in favor of him to puff out his chest and draw attention.
He’s remembering when he was an underdog and expected to be knocked out last year by Tszyu.
“I was the underdog in my last fight and you all saw how that went,” Fundora said. “We’re definitely not looking past Booker. This is what we’ve been focused on for three months and we’re going to show everyone what we came to do.”
The implication is that he wants to put on a show worthy of a Strip headliner.
Booker (23-1, 11 KOs) isn’t particularly well-known, but notoriety usually doesn’t win fights.
He faces a climb against Fundora just because of the enormous gap in reach: 80 inches to 70, in Fundora’s favor. Fundora has a powerful, accurate jab and that wingspan could allow him to stay away from Booker but pound him with jabs from left field.
Motivated by what a win would mean, Booker faces a nearly insurmountable challenge. Fundora's 80-inch reach and powerful jab could keep him at a safe distance all night.
Booker noted the super welterweights are the best in boxing, but knows getting past Fundora will mean finding a way to deal with his size.
“Fundora covers a lot of distance, so it’s not easy to avoid getting into a firefight with him,” Booker said. “I don’t care how I have to fight to get the win, though. I’ve trained to shock the world. I don’t think anyone can really prepare for Fundora’s size until you get in the ring and go a few rounds with him.”
Booker will likely learn along with the world that Fundora is more than just a tall guy with long arms. He’s got elite boxing skills and the ferocity and competitive spirit of an angry honey badger.
“The older I get, the more I feel like I’ve been learning in this sport,” Fundora said. “I was still growing into my man body and I feel like I’m fully a man now. I definitely think I’m a better fighter now that I’ve won these belts.
“I was confident before, but now there’s an extra confidence that I have with being a champion. I proved to the world that I’m the best in this division.”
Crawford, Ortiz, IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev, and plenty of others would vigorously dispute Fundora’s claim as the king of the super welterweights.
If Fundora keeps delivering the kind of pulsating performances he has in the past, ‘Do you know me?’ won’t be a question anymore. It’ll be a statement.
Sean Michael Ham/PBC
Sebastian Fundora is a 14-1 favorite on Saturday.