WBC junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora and Australian Tim Tszyu run it back in Las Vegas tonight.
They fought in March 2024, with Fundora winning a bloody bout on points, a thrilling 12-rounder that saw Tszyu horrifically cut and taking his first loss.
It was a bad year for the Australian, who was then annihilated by Bakhram Murtazaliev, while Fundora sat out the rest of the year but returned to bash Chordale Booker in four rounds in February.
Fundora-Tszyu I was across the street from tonight’s venue, the MGM Grand, in the T-Mobile, and much has changed this time, not least the venue.
Both argue over the impact of the second round cut from that initial encounter. Tszyu says he boxed through a sticky red haze, and was hampered the rest of the way. Fundora contends that he saw Tszyu looking at him all the way through and that he was just fine.
Regardless of which side you come down on, it certainly didn’t help Tszyu. But it is also worth remembering that Fundora’s nose pumped like a faucet through most of the fight, and while Tszyu’s vision was impaired, so was Fundora’s breathing.
However, given that Tszyu spent the majority of the night looking as though he’d walked off the set having played the victim in a slasher movie, I’m inclined to believe his side of the story.
That gash was a nightmare.
And his early success and tactics noticeably changed. Fundora could fight him in close because Tszyu couldn’t see what was hitting him or where it was coming from. Tszyu’s courage meant he kept launching shots at Fundora, and that’s what made it so gripping.
We knew that Fundora had been toppled by Brian Mendoza, and we knew that Tszyu could whack.
But that was back when Tsyzu must have felt invincible.
The August fight with Bakhram Murtazaliev was designed to get Tszyu a belt, sure, but to get him back on the horse, too.
It did the opposite. Early on, he felt uncertainly for his scalp, wondering whether the gaping wound from the Fundora bout had opened again and – stunned early, including being dropped three times in the second round and one in the third – he never got untracked. It ended in round three.
If the Fundora fight was a slasher movie, the Bakhram bout was a horror.
Yes, the 25-2 (18 KOs) Tszyu bagged a March win in Australia against Joey Spencer earlier this year, stopping him in the fourth round when the American’s corner threw in the towel, but Fundora is levels above Spencer, and he proved that again in February with a dominant win over the outgunned Chordale Booker.
Fundora is now 22-1-1 (14 KOs) and seemingly maturing into a solid, assured champion. The 6ft 5 1/2ins southpaw has metrics that no one in his weight class can compete with.
Often accused of not using his dimensions to his advantage, it can result in fan-friendly fights, as per his thriller with Erickson Lubin in 2022.
Keith Thurman, feasibly, awaits the winner.
Who that will be is remarkably uncertain.
For Tszyu, a fast start – or at least a solid one – is vital, not just in terms of finding his rhythm and interrupting Fundora’s but for his confidence and peace of mind. If the challenger can establish his right hand, which was getting closer and closer in the opening two rounds last time, and start to time Fundora’s attacks, he has a chance.
If Fundora starts swamping him, then will panic set in?
Is there a chance of that gruesome cut reopening?
It is fascinatingly poised.
Tszyu is a narrow betting favorite, and you can understand it based on how things were leading into the first fight, but there is far less certainty around this one.
That said, Tszyu is from real fighting stock.
Despite the cascading blood last time, there was not an ounce of quit in him, and his father – the great Kostya Tszyu – battled and punched his way into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
The Fundora family, with trainer Freddy and undisputed champion sister Gabriela, are riding a crest of a wave, however, and that confidence will be hard to snap, even if Tszyu might have the power to do just that.
“This is unfinished business for sure,” said Tszyu this week. “I wasn’t able to show myself completely the first time, and now I get to rewrite history.
“I feel like the knockout is gonna come. I just have to stay patient. About a year ago I was going too much for it, and you can’t do that in boxing, especially at the top level. When it comes, it comes.”
Tszyu wants revenge. He wants his spot near the top of the division back. He wants to put right what went so disastrously wrong last year.
“I can’t wait to get in the ring so that I can punish him,” the Australian added. “I’ve got a lot to prove. I wouldn’t say there’s bad blood, but I wanna take his head off. This is gonna be a fan-friendly fight.
“It’s hard for anyone to adjust to Fundora’s height. It’s a core advantage that he’s got. But there’s little things we have prepared for it.”
Southpaw Fundora will likely have worked on moving to his right, away from that Tszyu right hand. But while you can’t help but admire the fact the beanpole WBC champion loves a tear-up, it is not always in his best interests.
If Tszyu is mentally tough enough to get in the trenches and thrive, it could be his turn this time.
“Anything can happen in boxing,” admitted Fundora. “That first fight was a reminder. I just had to stick to the plan and that’s what I did.
“I feel very confident. I felt confident in the first fight. We had to run this back. Damage is gonna be done.
“He fought the whole fight with the cut. If he had such a big problem with the cut, the corner would have stopped it. That’s just what I think. I can only speak from my perspective. If he’s fighting, he’s fine.”
That seems harsh. Fighters have fought through terrible disadvantages and have not been pulled out. Doesn’t mean they’re fine. Was Danny Williams, fighting Mark Potter after dislocating his shoulder and having it swinging loosely by his side, just fine? Was Rocky Marciano, with his nose almost split in half in the Ezzard Charles rematch, fine?
This is no easy pick, although one suspects drama will be on the menu.
There could be blood, knockdowns, and controversy. I reckon there is a chance of fireworks once more, and I’m not convinced it goes the distance.
The pick is for Tszyu to have his revenge, but you wouldn’t want to put the house on it!
