WBC and WBO junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora’s promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz, says he will meet with the team this week to decide which direction ‘The Towering Inferno’ will go for his next fight following his fourth-round TKO win over Chordale Booker (23-2, 11 KOs) on Saturday night at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
(Credit: Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions)
Fundora (22-2-1, 14 KOs) says he’s willing to defend against his WBO mandatory Xander Zayas next, but Lewkowicz says he wants to discuss the options. There are more lucrative fights for Fundora out there against Errol Spence and Jermell Charlo.
The Zayas Mandate
Those are bigger names than the 22-year-old Zayas. Top Rank will be pushing for their fighter, Xander, to get his mandated title shot against Fundora. The WBO has made it clear that they want Fundora to face Xander next. They have 120 days to make the fight happen.
If Fundora vacates, that won’t worry Top Rank because they want Zayas to hold the title, and it doesn’t matter how he gets his hands on the belt. If he’s holding a title, it’ll validate him to fans in the New York area and in his native Puerto Rico. It’s a lot better for Top Rank if the WBO belt is vacated because Zayas isn’t in the same galaxy as Fundora talent-wise. These just need Zayas to have that title so he can milk it against soft opposition and make millions fighting in New York City.
Fundora has got to make the right decision because you never know how a fight will turn out. Tonight, he looked great, knocking Booker down in the fourth round and getting a stoppage moments later. This was Sebastian’s first fight in a year, and he looked like he’d never been away.
“We have a lot of great fighters in this division at 154. We have one of them in the crowd, Zayas. I can’t wait to share the ring with him,” said Sebastian Fundora at the post-fight press conference on Saturday night following his fourth-round knockout win over Chordale Booker.
Promoter’s Choice
“Then we have these other big names. We’ll see where those belts go. I only need two other belts. When this happens, Puerto Rico vs. Mexico, it’s going to be a great fight,” said Fundora about him and Xander Zayas. “It’s a great Latin fight. Boxing needs it right now.”
“It’ll be a good fight, but we need a few days to sit with the team to make a decision where we want to go,” said promoter Sampson Lewkowicz about the next fight for Sebastian Fundora.
Last Updated on 03/23/2025
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