Sebastian Fundora says he’s looking forward to proving that his fighting style is the “dominant” one in his rematch against Tim Tszyu this Saturday, July 19th. Fundora (22-1-1, 14 KOs) will defend his WBC junior middleweight title against Tszyu (25-2, 18 KOs). He wants to close the chapter on his Tszyu fights by knocking him out.
(Credit: Esther Lin/Premier Boxing Champions)
Fundora-Tszyu 2 will be fighting on the Manny Pacquiao vs. Mario Barrios card at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The event will be shown on PBC on Prime Video PPV at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT.
Tszyu Rematch: Cut or Excuse?
Tszyu has repeatedly blamed his loss to Fundora last year on the cut that he suffered in the second round. He feels that he couldn’t concentrate on the fight properly due to the blood flowing in rivers across his face.
“I’m feeling excited, very happy, and feeling grateful,” said Sebastian Fundora to Boxing News about his fight against Tim Tszyu. “I don’t think there are any advantages. It’s just how we are. How we train, and when the fight comes, how do you react to the fighter? These things come into play.”
Fundora is being modest here. Of course, he’s got advantages. At 6’6″, longer arms, younger, chin and a higher work rate, he has plenty of advantages over Tszyu. The only area where Sebastian is giving away is the power department. Tszyu punches harder. That won’t help him if his chin betrays him like it did in his brutal third-round knockout loss against IBF 154-lb champion Bakhram Murtazaliev last October.
“Everybody can have a great plan, but if you get hit too hard, maybe that plan isn’t a plan no more,” said Fundora. So, you’ve got to switch up. Advantages? I don’t think there are any advantages, but we do think we are the better fighters. We will show you again this Saturday.”
Tszyu already showed that he couldn’t make adjustments in his first fight with Fundora after he suffered a cut in the second round. He lost his cool and began throwing big shots, hoping to land a knockout blow. Fundora capitalized on Tim losing his cool by jabbing him, targeting his cut, and forcing him to deal with the blood.
“With that fight definitely, but now it’s been a year. Maybe he doesn’t think as much. We saw with [Joey] Spencer. I didn’t see that reaction anymore, which is good,” said Fundora when asked if Tszyu is still mentally worried about the cut he sustained in their fight last year.”
Spencer was too poor an opponent to identify if Tszyu was still haunted by his cut, and had PTSD from the Fundora fight. Sebastian said he felt that Tim showed signs of PTSD with the way he was dabbing at his forehead during his fight against Bakhram Murtazaliev.
We won’t know if Tim is mentally okay until he gets inside the ring on Saturday, and by then, it’ll be too late for him if the memories are triggered. Experiencing flashbacks during the battle with Sebastian would be a disaster for Tszyu.
Fundora’s Dominant Style Strategy
“We want the best Tim Tszyu to come out this Saturday, and we want to show how our style is the more dominant style. Of course, with Fundora having his hand raised. I hope so, I do hope so. We’ve been training very hard. I would like a stoppage victory. We’re bringing our best on Saturday. We hope you do as well,” said Fundora about his message to Tszyu.
Tszyu’s style is basically that of a slugger, and that’s all he has to go by. If he can’t get to Fundora to knock him out, there’s no plan B that he can count on using to bail him out. He’ll be stuck with his one-dimensional approach of swinging for the fences all night, hoping to land a big punch that will get him the victory.
Last Updated on 07/17/2025
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