Hearn revealed the idea is already on the table following conversations with Fundora’s side, positioning the fight as part of a wider push toward an undisputed champion at 154 pounds.
“We’ve had very, very early conversations with PBC about that,” Hearn said to iFL TV.
“They’re very interested, and I said let’s make Josh Kelly against Fundora and then the winner fights the winner of Boots for the undisputed.”
Kelly is currently being lined up for a voluntary defense this summer, but the Fundora option has quickly entered the picture as a more significant move. Hearn framed it as a natural next step rather than a long-term target.
The structure being discussed would create a clear two-fight route to full unification in the division, linking Fundora–Kelly with the outcome of Jaron Ennis’ ongoing run at 154.
“I mean that would be a very natural thing to do,” Hearn said. “Let’s get these fights made. Let’s make an undisputed champion. That’s what the game’s all about.”
No formal agreement is in place, and talks remain at an early stage, but the willingness from both sides signals movement toward one of the division’s most direct unification paths.
By matching Kelly with Fundora, Hearn achieves a few things: If Kelly loses, Hearn still had a hand in a massive unification event. If Kelly pulls off the upset, he becomes a global superstar heading into an undisputed fight.
Hearn promotes Ennis. By putting Kelly (also a Matchroom fighter) in with Fundora (PBC), he’s trying to consolidate the belts within his own stable to ensure the eventual undisputed fight is an all-Matchroom affair.
The “shoeshine” flurries to steal rounds might have worked against a stalking power puncher, Bakhram Murtazaliev, last January, but Fundora is a different beast entirely.
Fundora’s 80-inch reach and 6’6″ height mean Kelly’s “hit and move” strategy requires him to travel a massive distance just to get inside.
Unlike Murtazaliev, who followed Kelly in straight lines, Fundora has shown significant improvement in lateral movement. In his March 29 TKO win over Keith Thurman, Fundora used his jab as a physical barrier, systematically breaking Thurman down until the stoppage in Round 6.
If Kelly does get inside to throw those light combinations, he’s entering Fundora’s “phone booth,” where the “Towering Inferno” ironically does his best work with short, devastating uppercuts.
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