Sebastian Fundora is aiming for the Fundora family to have two world titles by the end of March.
Fundora (20-1-1, 13 KOs) faces Serhii Bohachuk (23-1, 23 KOs) on March 30 as part of the pay-per-view card on the Keith Thurman–Tim Tszyu bill. Fundora-Bohachuk is for the vacant super welterweight world title.
Trained by his father, Freddy Fundora, boxing is in the blood. Sebastian’s sister, Gabriela Fundora is now a world champion. Fundora has been battle-tested on his way to the top of the division. He also has earned a lot of attention in the ring not just from his performances but his unique physique. Fundora stands at 6ft 5ins, but makes the super welterweight limit of 154lbs.
“My dad isn’t going to let me dwell on or be sad or whatever the case is,” Fundora told BoxingScene of his near year-long layoff. “I have a strong mindset and I have a strong team.
“We are just strong overall, and we are ready for whatever comes.”
Fundora finished 2022 with a lot of momentum. He had a huge win over Erickson Lubin, which had been considered one of the best fights of the year, and that earned him the WBC interim junior middleweight title. Jermell Charlo, who held all four junior middleweight world titles at the time, was out of action due to an injury, so Fundora returned in the fall in a stay-busy interim title defense against Carlos Ocampo. His big moment was on the horizon, but then Fundora was stopped by Brian Mendoza.
Mendoza, in turn, lost to Tim Tszyu later that year. Now, Fundora gets a chance to fight for the outright world title against another fighter with action style.
For this camp, the 26-year-old Fundora is training in the mountains near Bakersfield, California, at an undisclosed location. He preferred not to name his sparring partners, and did this interview in a tree-laden environment. He said he was ready to fight.
“This is just the start of [my career],” Fundora explained, when asked about what lies ahead. “After I become a world champion, [it will be an] elevator ride all the way up.”
His younger sister, Gabriela Fundora, won the IBF flyweight title in October when she stopped Arely Mucino in the fifth round. Since then, she halted undefeated amateur stand-out Christina Cruz. Fundora believes that a win over Bohachuk could put his father in the conversation for being one of the best trainers in the world.
“It would be a great way to start the year actually,” said Fundora, reflecting on the potential of siblings holding titles at the same time. “She just won at the end of the year. For me to win it at the end of this month, that’d be great. It would put my dad as one of the great trainers, maybe win trainer of the year.”
Sebastian’s father, Freddy, has been his coach throughout his journey. The fighting Fundoras can be seen in each other’s corner on fight night. After Sebastian stopped Lubin, his sister let out a yell that became iconic and was captured in a viral photograph.
“It is just the respect, you know,” said Fundora, discussing his close-bond with his family. “The fact that we are always together, we can [almost read each other’s] minds. We are psychic to each other. It is just great overall. It keeps us close.”