“The Towering Inferno” Sebastian Fundora promises to reignite his flame when he steps back in the ring for a firefight against Serhii Bohachuk on March 30 for the vacant WBC super welterweight title.
Fundora (20-1-1, 13 KOs) was on the wrong end of the 2023 Knockout of the Year, in which Brian Mendoza shocked him in the seventh round of a fight Fundora was comfortably winning via near-shutout.
Bohachuk (23-1, 23 KOs) is all too familiar with the scenario, having fallen to a similar fate. His lone professional loss came to Brandon Adams via eighth-round technical knockout in a fight he was leading across the cards.
Both boxers now have an opportunity for a big breakthrough – each against the other.
“This fight means everything to my career,” Fundora, 26, told Boxing Scene. “This is my first real world title fight. I’m very excited to showcase my talents. I think it’s going to be a great, action-packed fight.
“I think I can beat anybody in the division. At the rate that we’ve been working, I think that I am unstoppable. … It’s not new confidence; I always had this confidence. I’m 100-percent focused now.”
At 6-foot-6, Fundora will have a six-inch height advantage and seven-inch reach advantage against Bohachuk, 28.
Now that former undisputed super welterweight champion Jermell Charlo is no longer ruling the division, Fundora plans to make his mark before moving up to middleweight.
“I’m 26 years old,” he said. “I am growing. I am getting a little heavier. But as of right now, I am still feeling comfortable.”
Fundora-Bohachuk will take place on the undercard of WBO super welterweight champion Tim Tszyu’s non-title tilt against Keith Thurman at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Amazon pay-per-view.
Fundora is backing Tszyu (24-0, 17 KOs) to beat Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs), a former unified welterweight holder.
The winner of Fundora-Bohachuk appears to be a natural next opponent for Tszyu.
“Of course I want to unify titles,” Fundora said, “but I just want the best at 154.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.