Undefeated junior middleweight Sebastian Fundora will be headlining Showtime Championship Boxing for the third time in a row, this time facing the upset-minded Brian Mendoza, on Saturday, April 8th, live on SHOWTIME from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
The fight week festivities began today as the two came toe-to-toe for the first time which showed the massive height difference between the two fighters which almost made the face-off photo comical. Fundora is a 6ft 6ins junior middleweight, quite the contrast to Mendoza who is 5ft 10ins. As Fundora is known at this point just as much for his towering frame, or should we “Towering Inferno” (Fundora’s nickname), as he is for his style in the ring.
“We’re just ready to put on a good show. It feels great to be fighting tough guys like Mendoza and that’s what I want to do again and again. I love fighting in front of these fans in Southern California,” said Sebastian Fundora at podium on Thursday afternoon at the Westin LAX. “I’m becoming more comfortable in this role as a headliner. It’s given me a good kind of overwhelming feeling for some past fights, but I’ve been very relaxed this whole camp and I’m just ready to go.”
The elephant in the room is that Jermell Charlo, who holds all four major world titles at junior middleweight has been out since last May when he knocked out Brian Castano in an undisputed title fight. Fundora and his team have their eyes set on trying to land a Charlo fight in the near future, if all goes well.
Fighting is the family business for the Fundora’s as Sebastian’s sister, Gabriela is also a fighter, and they are both trained by their father, Freddy Fundora. Fundora took time on this momentous occasion to reflect on the pride the family has in his skills, and how much they have grown as a unit over time.
“Me and my dad have been watching fights from a couple years ago when I was a bit more aggressive and was taking guys out. Last time we went the distance and wanted to show more boxing, but this time we’re gonna show that new work,” explained Fundora who spoke about being motivated by his close-knit family. “My father Freddy is a mentor and leader for me and my sister Gabriela. We’re going to follow his lead and that’s what you need in this sport. It’s not only inside the ring, but because he’s our father, it’s outside the ring as well.”
