[ad_1]
Junior middleweight contender Sebastian ‘The Towering Inferno’ Fundora 19-0-1 (13) proved he is the real deal with a career-best win over former world title challenger Erickson ‘The Hammer’ Lubin 24-2 (17) at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday night.
The 6-foot-6 Fundora, 24, busted up his fellow southpaw before the 26-year-old Lubin’s trainer Kevin Cunningham withdrew him from the fight at the end of the ninth round.
Lubin was leading on two of the judges’ scorecards 85-84 and even on the third 85-85.
Despite being up on the cards, it was Lubin who suffered visible damage in the fight with severe swelling on the bridge of his nose by the mid rounds and the right side of his face shortly after. It has been reported he sustained a broken nose and separated right shoulder during the bout.
The entertaining scrap saw Lubin control the distance for the first two stanzas before the action came in close. Despite Fundora’s elongated frame, this is where he does his best work. He had Lubin down and wobbled in the second round and continued to work him over on the inside with each subsequent round.
Lubin refused to be discouraged and gave as good as he got, but the more damaging blows came from his lanky opponent. In the seventh Lubin hurt Fundora, who wisely chose to take a knee before rallying back.
The stoppage seemed to come at a good time with Lubin’s face blowing up like a beachball.
“I think it was a good decision for Kevin Cunningham to stop the fight,” said Fundora. “His face shifted from round one to round nine. It completely morphed and there was a lot of blood coming out. He’s a tough fighter. He was in the game the whole time but there’s no need to get hurt that much.”
Explaining the reason he took the knee in the seventh, Fundora said: “I was a little bit buzzed. I took that knee because I needed it to recollect myself and, by the time I got back up, I was fine.”
The youthful southpaw promises to be a handful for anyone in the division – not because of his dimensions, but because of his skill. The Lubin win has just put the 154-pound weight class on notice.
“You could say that it was the hardest fight of my career,” Fundora said. “He made me take a knee, you know? He made me think a little bit. But it was a great fight… Both of us, Lubin and me, we gave the fight that we wanted to give to everybody. It was an ‘Inferno’.”
WBC, WBA and IBF junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo 34-1-1 (18) will meet WBO counterpart Brian Castano 17-0-2 (12) in a rematch of their hotly contested split draw last year when they collide again in May.
Fundora, who will be looking to face the winner, gave his thoughts on the match-up.
“I see Charlo winning the fight against Castano,” said Fundora. “I feel like he’ll be too strong for Castano the second time. If Castano wins, that’s great too. I just want to go after all of them. This is the interim belt so I want the world champion title. I want the real deal.”
[ad_2]
Source link