CARSON, Calif. – Brian Mendoza broke out in a major way Saturday night by scoring the 2023 frontrunner for knockout of the year and upset of the year.
Down big on all three scorecards, Mendoza stunningly stopped Sebastian Fundora with a three-punch combination in the seventh round to win the WBC interim super welterweight title.
The sensational finish capped off a meteoric rise for the 11-to-1 underdog Mendoza, who just 13 months ago was fighting in non-televised walkout bouts. But then in November, Mendoza knocked out the former unified champion Jeison Rosario on 10-day notice at his first fight at 160 pounds. The resounding performance set up Mendoza for Fundora.
“It’s crazy, man. I’m really here. I wasn’t supposed to be here. I wasn’t supposed to make it this far,” Mendoza said during his post-fight press conference at the Dignity Health Sports Park.
“This is just adding fuel to the fire. I’m going to continue working harder than I was. I don’t know how that’s going to be possible, but I’m going to find a way. It’s just belief. You have to kill me to get me to stop.
“The time to beat me was back then, the old Brian. This is a new monster you see in front of you.”
Before the climactic ending, Mendoza (22-2, 16 KOs) had little working for him through the first six rounds, as Fundora was finding tremendous success with a vicious left uppercut on the inside.
“Even when he was snapping my head back, none of those uppercut shots had me dazed. I said. ‘it’s OK. I’m going to eat these shots and keep coming. I feel that I’m a dangerous fighter until the end,” said Mendoza.
“I was ready for the awkwardness. The thing with him was to break him down. He’s a monster. He’s non-stop throwing punches. I wasn’t going to try to sit there in the middle and just trade with him. You saw when I did that he would land sneaky, weird shots.”
Mendoza said the game plan from the beginning was to win the second half of the fight. Before the seventh round, Mendoza said trainer Ismael Salas urged him to put some more power behind his shots.
“I wasn’t looking for one shot. I set it up. I saw the openings, and we rolled with it. You see what happens. There are shifts in momentum. I just didn’t give up. I never cared that I was losing a couple of rounds,” said Mendoza.
“Even though he’s so lanky, he’s so solid. He’s that strong … I almost started matching his pace. I relaxed my shoulders and got into my rhythm, and let it pop.”
Although the 29-year-old Mendoza is now in line to fight undisputed super welterweight champion Jermell Charlo, Mendoza said that he’s ready for all comers at 154 or 160 pounds.
“Put me in either weight class,” said Mendoza. “I have the belt now, so they can’t deny me. I’m the easiest fight to make.”
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 Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.