Another undisputed championship is on the horizon.
BoxingScene.com has confirmed that the respective teams for Marlen Esparza and Gabriela Fundora are in advanced talks for a fight to fully unify all the flyweight titles. Terms are not yet finalized despite earlier reports of the fight being set in stone. However, representatives from all involved parties confirmed to Boxing Scene that there is reason for optimism that everything will be signed off in the coming days.
Esparza-Fundora is due to land on the already confirmed Vergil Ortiz-Fredrick Lawson junior middleweight bout on January 6 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, as previously revealed by ESPN.
Esparza (14-1, 1KO) is the current lineal, WBA, WBC and WBO flyweight champion. Fundora (12-0, 5KOs) recently claimed the IBF crown with a terrific fifth-round knockout of Arely Mucino on October 21 in Inglewood, California.
Golden Boy Promotions—who promotes Esparza and presented the Fundora-Mucino clash—was long keen on crowning an undisputed flyweight champion. The company co-promotes Mucino, who was willing to face Esparza and at one point with such a fight on course to take place in October.
However, those plans were disrupted when both were unable to get their respective mandatory challengers to stand down.
Esparza was previously bound to a WBO-ordered rematch versus Argentina’s Gabriel ‘La Chuky’ Alaniz after a thorough review of an appeal filed from their July 8 unification bout in San Antonio. Esparza claimed a disputed ten-round decision win over Alaniz, who entered as the unbeaten WBO titlist and who many felt deserved the nod in a very competitive contest.
The WBO was previously prepared to stand down on its demand for the two to run it back when it was learned that Esparza-Mucino was in play for the undisputed crown. However, those plans rapidly changed when Alaniz opted against a step-aside opportunity, which also forced the IBF to move forward with its ordered mandatory title fight.
Fundora took full advantage of her first title opportunity and effortlessly handled Mucino to win the IBF belt and position herself to become undisputed champion in just her 13th pro fight.
The 21-year-old southpaw is the younger sister of former interim WBC junior middleweight titlist Sebastian Fundora. Both are promoted by Sampson Lewkowicz, who has a longstanding working relationship and close friendship with Golden Boy president Eric Gomez.
Both sides have been in talks for the past several weeks. The hope was to have buttoned up all lingering points and announce the fight prior to the Thanksgiving holiday but was not yet at that point.
Boxing Scene has confirmed that one condition for Esparza-Fundora to move forward is that the winner must next face Alaniz (14-1, 6KOs), who remains the WBO mandatory and will be afforded a fight in the interim.
The winner of Esparza-Fundora will become the division’s first-ever undisputed champion and the lightest fully unified queen among all women in the sport.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox