The most competitive fight on paper in Los Angeles instead produced the biggest statement-making performance for its victor.
Sebastian Fundora took a significant leap in his rising career following a stunningly one-sided 6th round stoppage of normally durable Nathaniel Gallimore in their junior middleweight bout. The crossroads bout—which aired last month live on Fox from Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles—saw Fundora force an aggressive pace and grow stronger with each passing round before referee Jerry Cantu intervened midway through round six.
The bout was the first for the 6’5 ½” junior middleweight prospect since the coronavirus pandemic, though not at all an opportunity which caught him by surprise.
“I’m always ready to fight,” Fundora (15-0-1, 10KOs) told BoxingScene.com. “We had about three weeks’ notice for this fight, but they gave it to me because they know I’m always in shape and ready for anyone.”
Fundora put his best skills in and out of the ring to good use while quarantined, literally setting up a training camp in his Coachella, California home. It will remain his training headquarters in the foreseeable future, allowing him to stay ready for whenever that next phone call comes.
"It’s what we do when not boxing, we build houses,” says Fundora. “We do it all the time besides boxing. MY dad wanted me to build a house (during the pandemic) so we built a house.
“Who knows, maybe it’s my future. We’ll see where it takes me.”
For now, Fundora’s skills take him up the rankings. The 22-year old will debut as the number-nine contender in the junior middleweight division according to Transnational Boxing Ratings Board (TBRB), an independent ratings board which votes weekly on each division and with all rankings based entirely on merit.
There is plenty of time before Fundora is pushed toward the top of the division, which remains a revolving door as there has been massive turnover at the title level in recent years. The next few fights will continue to put him on the path to contention, no matter what names are thrown at him.
“I don’t even think about the best right now, the division is always changing,” notes Fundora. “I just stay ready for anything. It seems like the best fighters are changing every day at the top. We’ll just have to see who is still around by the time I’m there.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
