WBC Super Welterweight World Champion Sebastian Fundora, known as “The Towering Inferno” for his impressive height, is in his last few weeks of training camp in California as he prepares to take former unified champion Keith “One Time” Thurman on Saturday, March 28 in the main event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The fight headlines a Premier Boxing Champions Pay-Per-View event available on Prime Video.
Fundora and Thurman were originally scheduled to meet last October until a Fundora hand injury forced the postponement to March. The reigning champ says he is fully recovered.
Fundora vs Thurman “Gloves Off” Preview
Fundora Recovered From Hand Injury
“Camp has been good since recovering from the hand injury,” said Fundora of Coachella, California (23-1-1, 15 KOs). “We never stopped training. We just slowed down on some things that we do. We always figure out ways to work, because this is an all-year-round sport. This isn’t seasonal. I don’t think about this as a training camp. This is my job. This is a lifestyle.
“Having more time to focus on one opponent is always a blessing. We wish it didn’t happen this way with the injury, but we’ll take advantage of the extra time. It was disappointing to have to postpone the fight, but things happen in boxing and in life. You just have to roll with the punches.
Fundora said it was challenging for him to back off and refrain from using his hands until he was fully healed. But exposing hands made fragile due to repeated injuries that become chronic can threaten a fighter’s career. “For a period of time, we couldn’t do that. So I had to figure out a way to make sense of it.”
Thurman Follows Tszyu Victories
Sebastian Fundora returns to the ring after two victories over challenger Tim Tszyu of Australia, with a March 2025 stoppage win over contender Chordale Booker in between. Last July, Fundora delivered among the best performances of his career in the Tszyu rematch, proving his first win wasn’t a fluke based on the wicked cut suffered by Tzsyu. He thoroughly dominated a determined but overwhelmed Tszyu, stopping him with no questions left to answer.
Now Fundora hopes to pick up where he left off in his fight against the popular former world champion, who still believes he’s got the goods to challenge Fundora.
“Beating this former world champion will make a big statement,” said Fundora. “I still feel like I’m at the top of the division. I don’t think we’ve lost any momentum. We just had to reschedule. We’re not hiding from anybody. This is gonna remind everyone that we are at the top.”
While Thurman is admittedly past his prime, Fundora will need to deal with an opponent with an impressive resume, perhaps the best of any among his 25 professional fights.
Thurman enjoyed a long reign as the king of the welterweight division before officially debuting at super welterweight with a knockout of Brock Jarvis last March. Fundora said Thurman’s victory by decision over then-unbeaten welterweight world champion Danny Garcia is his favorite “One Time” performance by his upcoming opponent.
“I liked Thurman’s performance against Danny Garcia,” said Fundora. “Garcia was also a top name, and those two clashing together was a great fight, and Thurman getting the victory showed how great a fighter he was.”
Thurman Talks, But Can He Walk?
Fundora vs. Thurman is a matchup with interest outside as well as inside the ring with a clash of personal styles. Fundora is soft-spoken and composed in contrast to one of boxing’s most bombastic personalities in recent years. The outspoken and always entertaining Thurman done what he can to poke at Fundora during pre-fight activities.
Fundora says it’s great for the promotion, and he isn’t taking it personally.
“Keith’s trash talk is good for TV, that’s what I’ll say,” said Fundora. “He’s always been the bad guy going into a fight because of that. And he backs it up a lot. But this time he’s not gonna be able to back it up.
“I’m not distracted by the talking. It doesn’t bother me one bit. Maybe if he wasn’t as well-known as he is, it could have caught me off guard. But when I step into the ring with these guys, I expect them to hate my guts. I expect that they wanna get rid of me. That’s boxing.
“We’re in a competitive sport, and we want to do the same thing to each other. It’s nothing personal, but we both gotta do what we gotta do.”
Boxing A Family Affair For Fundoras
Sebastian Fundora’s career has always been a family affair based in their camp in the high desert mountains surrounding the Coachella Valley, built and run by his father and trainer Freddy Fundora. Coming from the desert, dealing with this season’s snowfall has been a challenge.
“This isn’t easy living right here in the mountains,” said Fundora. “I don’t even know how much snow we have, but it’s a lot. It’s past my ankles already, and we ran in it this morning. There are lots of obstacles training up here, but we still work and come to win and be the best.”
Fundora trains alongside his younger sister, the undisputed world super flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora. She frequently reminds him who became an undisputed champion first. With Gabriela training for a title defense on March 14, just two weeks before Sebastian gets into the ring, the combined training efforts of the siblings help boost each up to be their best.
“Having Gabriela training alongside me is a good reminder that shows me what’s working and what needs to be done,” said Fundora. “Watching her fight is gonna give me a good IQ lesson for what can work for me in this fight and what can’t.” Also present at the training camp is younger sister Fabiola. Her older brother and sister say she may turn out to be the most talented boxer of all three, and that’s a significant statement.
Sebastian Fundora Headlining First Vegas PPV
With his sisters nipping at his resume, the 28-year-old Harvard University engineering student plans to play it smart and make the most of this opportunity, solidifying his claim as the top boxer in the super welterweight division.
Sebastian Fundora notes it is also his first time headlining a Las Vegas pay-per-view event. “We’re very blessed that Las Vegas is taking us in with open arms. I think every time we fought in Vegas and at MGM, it’s been a great fight.
“I’m fighting one of the best fighters of this era, so make sure you tune in and watch this live. You’re gonna see the king of 154 do his thing all over again.”
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist and the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). She is the Managing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.