The junior middleweight picture became a bit clearer Saturday night at Mandalay Bay, as WBC/WBO champion Sebastian Fundora successfully defended his belts against Chordale Booker - and promptly shared the stage with his likely next challenger, Puerto Rican rising star Xander Zayas. Both fighters embraced the idea of a Mexico vs. Puerto Rico clash, with Fundora calling it “a great fight that boxing needs now” and Zayas insisting he would fight “on the moon” if that’s where the opportunity arose.
Fundora had no trouble dominating Booker, knocking him down early in the fourth round before finishing him off with a series of brutal left-handed shots. Booker afterward praised Fundora’s deceiving length and ability to generate shots from unexpected angles, calling his style “difficult to keep up with.” With that business handled, Fundora set his sights on unification - but he’s also aware the WBO insists on a mandatory defense against Zayas.
Zayas says he has built toward this exact moment, adding he believes his “speed, skill, and boxing IQ” will give Fundora trouble. Despite the typical boxing politics - Top Rank promotes Zayas, while Premier Boxing Champions works with Fundora - both sides see the immediate appeal of a marketable matchup. As Fundora puts it, “We’re prizefighters. We want to win the biggest fight we can,” and making it happen in the U.S. could be one of the division’s most must-see showdowns to date.
Get to know more about Xander here.
Image Credit: ESPN