Brian Mendoza was insulted.
The junior middleweight worked too hard for too long to fight after the main event last March 26 in an essentially empty arena. Yet there Mendoza was, boxing in anonymity while workers broke down Showtime’s set that surrounded the ring at The Armory in Minneapolis.
Tim Tszyu solidified his spot as the mandatory contender for Jermell Charlo’s WBO 154-pound championship in the bout before Mendoza stopped Benjamin Whitaker in the fifth round. While Tszyu’s victory over Terrell Gausha in Showtime’s main event moved the unbeaten Australian into position to challenge Charlo, a title shot seemed improbable at best for Mendoza.
“Of course, I was like, ‘How did I get back to this?’ That’s where you start at,” Mendoza told BoxingScene.com. “I felt like the level I’m at, I know I’m better than that. That’s basically what it was – saying, ‘OK, I understand how I got here, but I know I’m better than this and it’s time to keep showing people.’ And in that fight, I got a flashy knockout. And then it was, ‘OK, cool. Now we need to do it against someone better.’ ”
Jeison Rosario was that someone better than Whitaker (15-10, 3 KOs, 1 NC). Mendoza made the most of a fight he took on 10 days’ notice by knocking out the favored former IBF/IBO/WBA 154-pound champion in the fifth round of their November 5 fight.
His career-changing victory over the Dominican Republic’s Rosario (23-4-1, 17 KOs) also took place at The Armory, but Showtime televised it. Five months later, the determined Mendoza (21-2, 15 KOs) finds himself in a position similar to Tszyu just a year after his career was at one of its lowest points.
If Mendoza beats Sebastian Fundora in their “Showtime Championship Boxing” main event Saturday night in Carson, California, he’ll win the WBC interim super welterweight title from Fundora (20-0-1, 13 KOs) and become the WBC’s mandatory challenger for the winner of the Charlo-Tszyu fight later this year. Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) is expected to defend his IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO belts against Tszyu (22-0, 16 KOs) on a date to be determined sometime late this summer.
“I went from that to a year later in a title fight,” Mendoza said. “It’s incredible. The dream is coming true. I’ll put it that way. I won’t say the dream has come true yet, but the dream is coming true.”
Mendoza moved from his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico to Las Vegas five years ago to pursue this championship dream. That dream wasn’t to win an interim title, thus the hard-hitting contender won’t feel fulfilled if he upsets Fundora, a 6-foot-6 southpaw who is consistently listed as an 11-1 favorite over Mendoza.
“A lot of people are satisfied just getting to this point,” Mendoza said. “This means nothing to me, honestly. My dream has always been to become world champion. You’re not gonna see someone who’s just gonna show up for the check and say, ‘Oh, I made it this far.’ That’s not me. That’s never been who I am. That would disgust me to be satisfied with, just to put it bluntly. But my dreams are right here at the doorstep.”
The 29-year-old Mendoza’s dream seemed out of reach after the last undefeated southpaw he fought, Jesus Ramos (20-0, 16 KOs), unanimously out-pointed him in their 10-rounder in September 2021 at The Armory.
That marked Mendoza’s second setback in the less than two years. Larry Gomez (10-2, 8 KOs) edged Mendoza by split decision in their eight-round bout in November 2019 at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, which prompted promoter Top Rank to terminate Mendoza’s contract.
Nineteen months after Ramos became the second man to beat him, Mendoza at least has a realistic chance of joining Bob Foster, Danny Romero, Johnny Tapia, Holly Holm and Angelo Leo as boxing’s only world champions from Albuquerque.
“I’ve sacrificed and I’ve suffered like you cannot believe in this training camp,” Mendoza said. “I’ve dedicated everything. I’ve killed myself to be able to perform on fight night, so you guys are gonna see the true best of me.”
Fundora often fights on the inside, despite the height and reach advantages he always owns over opponents in the 154-pound division. An extremely motivated Mendoza intends to exploit “the holes” he sees in Fundora’s defense and thinks he will surprise Fundora with his technical skill.
“I don’t wanna go back to those swing-bout fights, you know, fighting after the main event, when everyone’s gone,” Mendoza said. “I’m a TV fighter. I’m a spotlight fighter. And it’s time to keep showing the world.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.