Sebastian Fundora edges out Tim Tszyu to win the unified junior middleweight title as a late replacement. (Photo: Esther Lin / Premier Boxing Champions)
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In one of the most bloody fights in recent memory, Sebastian Fundora annexed the WBC and WBO junior middleweight titles from the previously unbeaten Tim Tszyu at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
The fight headlined the first Premier Boxing Champions PPV on Amazon Prime Video.
The defending champion Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) appeared to thave things under control in the early going, controlling the action and outboxing the much-taller Fundora.
During the second round however, an accidental elbow from Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs) opened up a nasty cut on top of Tszyu’s head that would bleed profusely for the remainder of the fight.
The cut completely changed the direction of the fight and Tszyu would have trouble seeing – his corner unable to address the constant flow of blood over his eyes.
“I’m a throwback fighter and whatever circumstances come up, I’ll keep going,” said Tszyu afterward. “But all credit belongs to the man who won tonight. These things happen. My momentum was rolling in the first two rounds and then boom, you’re blinded completely. This is boxing, it’s part of the sport.”
Fundora too would deal with his share of blood from the nose but with Tszyu compromised, Fundora found the opportunities to use his height and long jabs to stunt Tszyu’s attack.
“I didn’t want to break my nose today, but this is my life and this is boxing,” said Fundora following his win. “I just had to be smart. I used my brain. I hope you saw me use my boxing skills tonight.”
Despite the crimson mask, Tszyu hung in tough and made Fundora earn every bit of the win – a split decision victory for Fundora with scores of 116-112, 112-116, and 115-113.
“I show up no matter what and always bring the fight,” said Tszyu. “There’s no excuses. I’ll fight whoever, whenever. If you want a good scrap, you know who to call.”
Fundora, who was not originally supposed to fight Tszyu, replaced Keith Thurman who suffered a bicep injury less than two weeks before the show.
“Tszyu is a world champion for a reason,” said Fundora. “It’s an honor to share the ring and make history with him.”
Earlier in the evening, Isaac Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs) earned the WBA super lightweight title with an eighth-round stoppage win over Rolando Romero (15-2, 13 KOs).
Also on the card, WBA middleweight champ Erislandy Lara (30-3-3, 17 KOs) scored a second round KO over Michael Zerafa (31-5, 19 KOs) to retain his title.
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