Sebastian Fundora retains junior middleweight title with TKO of Tim Tszyu in rematch

Sebastian Fundora won his first match against Tim Tszyu, but an inadvertant elbow caused a bad cut that affected Tszyu throughout the bout. On Saturday, there was no fluke cut, just a dominant showing by WBC junior middleweight champion Fundora before Tszyu retired in his corner as the co-main event of the Manny Pacquiao vs. Mario Barrios PPV event in Las Vegas on Saturday.

It took little time for Fundora to send a message to Tszyu, landing a thudding left in the first round that dropped Tszyu to the canvas. Tszyu beat the count, but it took several rounds before it appeared he’d shaken off the knockdown and was fully back in the fight.

Fundora, the tallest champion in boxing despite fighting at just 154 pounds, used his reach brillaintly throughout the fight, peppering Tszyu with jabs as well as straight left hands that seemed as though they could not miss.

Tszyu eventually fought his way back into the fight, having good success with heavy left hooks and overhand rights in rounds six and seven. Even as Tszyu began to find more success, he was being tagged with a steady stream of punches from the champion.

After the seventh round, a round that may have been Tszyu’s best of the fight, the referee checked on Tszyu in the corner and was told Tszyu had nothing left.

“He’s one tough motherf—er,” Tszyu said of his decision to stop the fight. “I tried to give it everything, but I just couldn’t do it. The victory belongs to Sebastian Fundora, the best 154-pounder on the planet today. He was just the better man. … He’s the better man. He’s very hard to land. He’s tall as f— and sometimes I felt I was shadowboxing myself, but it is what it is.”

Fundora showed a mature approach to the fight after spending much of his early career exchanging shots in toe-to-toe battles despite his ridiculous height advantage.

After the fight, Fundora said that he realized he is not going to grow anymore, saying, “I’m not drinking any more milk.” Knowing that, he decided it was time to embrace his physical advantages.

“I felt like I’m obviously the better guy,” Fundora said. “Everyone is telling me I’m a bully in the ring, and I thought let’s just bully these guys. … I looked at myself in the mirror this morning and thought, ‘Oh wow, I have reach.'”