By: Sean Crose
It wasn’t so much that Sebastian Fundora defeated former world titlist Keith Thurman last March as it was the way Fundora defeated his fellow Floridian. Thurman, who had only been defeated once and that was to the legendary Manny Pacquiao, was completely overwhelmed and outgunned. Thurman, the colorful, hard hitting potential Hall of Famer, didn’t make it to round seven. And, although Thurman was rusty and over the hill, it was difficult to imagine the fighter called “One Time” besting Fundora in his prime. Fundora was just that dominant. The question that has arisen since that late winter night: who can actually beat this guy at this point in in his career?
The undefeated Ermal Hadribeaj thinks he’s the man who can knock the towering Fundora off his perch. It certainly won’t be easy, for when the two men meet in the ring Saturday in Las Vegas defending WBC junior middleweight titlist Fundora will be in possession of a whopping five plus inch height advantage. Couple that with Fundora’s power and it’s understandable why Fundora is expected to get the win this weekend.
Still, Hadribeaj possesses a sharp, awkward, hirky-jerky style that can certainly frustrate an opponent. Will the Albanian born Miami Beach resident be able to get in on the exceedingly tall Fundora, though?
As things stand, Fundora is on the v hierge of being a legitimate star in the sport. Provided he beats Hadribeaj – and that’s no guarantee – the hunt may well be on for a big name opponent who, like Fundora himself, is currently in his prime. Needless to say, the name Jaron “Boots” Ennis comes to mind. Like Fundora, Philly’s Enis is a junior middleweight word titlist, holding the WBA and WBO straps. Also, like Fundora, Ennis is viewed as a fighter truly ready to make his mark on the world. Long story short – a Funduro-Ennis fight would be very big news for the sport.
“I don’t take anybody lightly.” he told FightHype. “If i get this guy out of here, which I plan on doing, look for that next year.” By “that,” of course, Fundora was referring to a fight with Ennis. “I think that’s the big fight at 154,” he added. And so it just may be. Ennis has been waiting for what seems like forever to land himself a spotlight opponent. Indeed there was even talk of him facing Terence Crawford, who would have had to exit retirement in order meet with Ennis in the ring. A Fundora-Ennis fight is exciting to think about, but again, there’s still Hadribeaj to contend with. “I expect a good fight,” Fundora said of Saturday to Ariel Helwani. “He’s (Hadribeaj is) an undefeated fighter.”
Perhaps one reason for Fundora’s rising popularity is the man comes from a family of fighters. His father, the patriarch of the clan, seems to have a huge influence and a positive one at that on both Fondura and his sister, world titlist Gabriela. It’s unlikely for the man to wander when it would clearly disappoint his whole family, which takes the fight game very seriously.
In an era where boxing or rather boxers tend to be random at best when it comes to their choice of opponents there’s a hard to shake feeling that Fundora is a well grounded titlist. He’s taking on big names such as Thurman and Tim Tszyu. He’s suffered a loss and come back stronger. He oozes confidence in interviews. There’s a lot of reason to believe there’s a strong future for the 28-year-old… should he keep on winning against notable competition. Hadribeaj may not be renowned, but he is a ranking contender.
