Sebastian Fundora Conditionally Approved by WBO to Continue Voluntary Defence
Sebastian Fundora has now been cleared to go forward with the planned defense.
However, who he plans to face, could decide whether he retains his WBO junior middleweight title.
The Ring has confirmed that Fundora (21-1-1, 13 knockouts) has been conditionally approved by the WBO for a voluntary defense. The decision came in lieu of a previously ordered unification bout against Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs). As previously reported by The Ring, both sides have agreed to split at least one fight. Crawford’s concession freed Fundora to face an opponent of his party’s choosing.
Another goal of this battle is that the player currently being challenged must be ranked in the top 15.
Update is open #FundoraCrawford “expressions”:
He was told that the WBO had accepted an agreement for Fundora to pursue a voluntary defense. However, it must be against a 15-ranked opponent and a fight against Spence will NOT be sanctioned as a WBO title defense.— Jake Donovan (@JakeNDaBox) October 10, 2024
That could kill plans for a target match against Errol Spence Jr. (28-1, 22 KOs). Such a fight has been rumored since Fundira’s March 30 split decision victory over Tim Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) to win the vacant WBO and WBC 154-pound titles. Spence joined Fundora in the ring to issue a personal challenge, which Fundora verbally accepted.
However, Spence has not fought since his ninth-round knockout loss to Crawford on July 29 in Las Vegas. This event saw Crawford win The Ring championship and fully unify all of the welterweight titles.
A lengthy layoff coupled with his last win in April 2022 has left Spence off the WBO list. He is currently ranked No. 1 by the WBC at junior middleweight, which would at least put that title at risk.
Fundora is now at risk of being stripped of the WBO if he agrees to face Spence next. The need to face a Top 15 opponent was communicated directly to Fundora’s team by the WBO earlier this year.
Fundira-Crawford’s initially ordered bond was an extension of a conditional sentence imposed by the sentencing agency in March. It came with its approval for Fundora to challenge Tszyu on short notice. Fundora won the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) bloodbath on March 30 in the Prime pay-per-view headliner by split decision. He also captured the vacant WBC 154-pound title with the win.
Crawford holds the WBA title and the WBO interim belt at 154.
Rather than a three-way tie, Fundora and Crawford will go head-to-head.
Crawford has fought just once since defeating Spence. It came in his 154-pound debut, where he pinned Israel Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs) on August 3 to win the WBA title and the vacant WBO interim belt.
No other fight has ever excited the imagination of The Ring’s No. 3 pound-for-pound who entered without a big fight with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs).
Passion remains a one-way street, for now. Alvarez—the RING, WBC, WBA and WBO super middleweight champion—dismissed the matchup when asked about it. He remains uncommitted to that tournament or any other at this time.
Fundora-Spence is tentatively targeted for the first quarter of 2025, if the game goes ahead.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
