The options are dwindling and the options are plentiful.
On the evening that undisputed women’s flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora flexed how mismatched she is from the rest of the best 112lbs female fighters in the world, the question that looms is: Where can she go now?
After weighing in at 110 pounds for her seventh-round TKO victory Saturday in a title defense against Canada’s Alexas Kubicki at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California, Fundora, 17-0 (9 KOs), said she’s capable of going to junior-flyweight, where unified champion Evelyn Bermudez reigns.
“Who knows? Only God can tell,” Fundora said in the ring afterward.
In a homecoming bout at her former hometown in the Coachella Valley, Fundora, 23, had her way in battering Kubicki with power punches and setting her up for the early finish.
“I expected her to come 1,000 percent. We came [one] million,” said Fundora, the younger sister of 154lbs champion Sebastian Fundora, who defends his WBC belt October 25 against former unified welterweight champion Keith Thurman in Las Vegas.
Gabriela Fundora said she knew “right away,” that she’d win the fight. “The very first punch I threw … .”
When she saw the referee inspect the reeling Kubicki after the sixth round, Fundora did what a greatest champion does: went for the finish in the seventh.
“My corner told me she was hurt. They’re checking her out. Obviously, something’s wrong with her,” she said. “It’s good to get another knockout.”
The divide in talent between Fundora and the others at 112lbs begs for a move since former champion Seneisa Estrada is pregnant and retired.
Fundora promoter Oscar De La Hoya said he will figure out something.
“She’s young, learning, growing,” he said. “Give her a few more fights and she’ll be No. 1 in the world [among women fighters]. She might go down [in weight], but it’s very tough to get opponents for her.”
At 115lbs, Fundora could challenge champions including the popular Mizuki Hiruta, or she might bide her time and rack up belts in a multitude of weight classes.
Fundora said she would huddle with her team that includes Golden Boy Promotions and promoter Sampson Lewkowicz and determine an appropriate path.
For now, no one else is close.
