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Sebastian Fundora Stops Keith Thurman In Six, Retains WBC
Super Welterweight World Title
WBC Super Welterweight World Champion Sebastian “The
Towering Inferno” Fundora retained his title in style
Saturday night with a sixth-round stoppage of former unified
champion Keith “One Time” Thurman in the main event of a PBC
Pay-Per-View event available on Prime Video from the MGM
Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
"We've been working very hard for this fight,” said Fundora.
“I told him that I've always looked up to him. He's a Hall
of Famer for sure. I take my hat off to him. That's why I
had to train so hard to prove to the world that I'm the best
at 154. I've fought in these high class fights that have
allowed me to mature and grow. I've continued to strive for
greatness and now I'm here.”
"It was a lot of fun,” said Thurman. “Sebastian definitely
came in shape. He throws a lot of punches. The uppercut that
caught me and cut me was an awkward punch that I've never
been hit with before. The man brings it. He's a tremendous
champion, and I can lift my head up high knowing I was
defeated by a great young fighter."
Standing nearly 6’6”, Fundora (24-1-1, 16 KOs) has taken the
154-pound division by storm, and added another top name to
his resume in Thurman (31-2, 23 KOs). Overall Fundora owned
a 96 to 26 edge in shots landed per CompuBox, and only
allowed Thurman to land three jabs.
After Fundora looked to be picking up his power attack in
round four, Thurman came out aggressively in round five, and
landed a flush right hand on Fundora’s face in the opening
moments. The shot was not able to deter the champion
however, who continued his onslaught, even as Thurman would
occasionally land a power shot of his own. Fundora ended the
round landing a piercing left hook that sent Thurman
staggering back to his corner.
Early in round six, Fundora sensed his moment coming and
went back to work with a series of power shots, including a
right uppercut that left Thurman’s left eye badly cut.
Thurman was unable to keep Fundora from pushing forward, as
referee Thomas Taylor jumped in to stop the bout 1:17 into
the round.
After the fight, Thurman expressed his frustration with what
he saw as an early stoppage, while Fundora set his sights on
continuing to stamp his elite status in the division.
"The fight was getting really good,” said Thurman. “The fans
were loving the action and the referee stopped the fight too
early. They don't have the guts to let the fights go on like
the Erik Morales days. He talked to me and said if I was
moving my feet he wouldn't stop the fight. I wasn't on the
ropes taking shots. It was very unfortunate to not give the
fans a better show. Win, lose, or draw, I thought it was a
little bit premature. I had more in me.”
"There's all kinds of big names I want to fight,” said
Fundora. “154 is the best division right now. Whoever wants
it next can get it.”
In a co-main event battle of former interim 154-pound
champions, Yoenis Tellez (12-1, 8 KOs) scored a hard-fought
unanimous decision victory over Brian Mendoza (23-5, 17 KOs)
after 10 grueling rounds.
The fight nearly came to an early end in round three, when
Tellez was on the receiving end of an accidental headbutt
that sent him down with a broken and bloodied nose. After
using nearly the whole five minutes allowed to recover,
Tellez rose to his feet and resumed the action.
"My corner lifted me up and they got me back into the
fight,” said Tellez. “When you're a warrior you don't show
any weakness, but I had trouble breathing, there's no doubt.
The pain was a 10 out of 10, but I'm a warrior and my corner
told me I had the courage and that I could get this win.”
"He kept trying to switch to smother me and that's how the
headbutt happened,” said Mendoza. “It was just because of
him switching.”
Despite a bloodied nose, Tellez began to find his range
against Mendoza, working off the jab to pile up rounds and
turn the tide after the headbutt. Mendoza was able to regain
some momentum with a strong flurry to end round six, despite
a left eye that began to bleed and that would remain
bloodied through the rest of the action.
"The biggest thing was that I had to be aware not to get hit
in the nose,” said Tellez. “I definitely had to think about
it. I had to think more and focus on my defense."
Both fighters stepped on the gas to begin round nine,
landing eye catching shots in the early moments that sent
the crowd into a frenzy, and seemed to buoy the two fighters
through the last two frames. Another nip and tuck round
closed the bout, with both men looking to pull away on the
scorecards.
In a narrow fight that saw the two fighters land nearly the
same number of power shots (74-71 Tellez), the judges
favored the more accurate fighter in Tellez (34% connect
rate to 25%), by scores of 98-92 and 97-93 twice.
Pay-per-view action also saw top-rated middleweight
contender Yoenli Hernandez (10-0, 9 KOs) dominate veteran
contender and U.S. Olympian Terrell Gausha (24-6-1, 12 KOs)
on his way to a fourth-round TKO.
A Cuban phenom nearing his opportunity to fight for a world
title, Hernandez showed off the preternatural skills that
have made many tab him as a future world champion. Out of
his 94 punches landed, 74 of them were power shots,
including over 20 power shots in both the second and third
rounds.
"I was breaking him down so I just wanted to turn it up a
little more each round,” said Hernandez. “The intensity was
rising and my shots were getting harder.”
After he looked to have Gausha hurt in round three,
Hernandez continued to control the action with his
blistering power attack early in round four. Although Gausha
seemed to be game to continue, referee Allen Huggins had
seen enough and waved off the fight 1:17 into the frame
during a Hernandez offensive surge.
"I'm ready for any of the big names at middleweight,” said
Hernandez. “I want every one of them. Line them up, I'll be
ready."
Kicking off the pay-per-view was rising undefeated
heavyweight Gurgen “Big Gug” Hovhannisyan (10-0, 8 KOs)
delivering a fifth-round stoppage of Cesar Navarro (15-4, 13
KOs) to remain unbeaten.
Trained by the renowned Joe Goossen, Hovhannisyan continued
his ascent up the heavyweight division with his third
straight KO in his 2026 debut. The Armenian born fighter
went into the fight with a 70-pound weight advantage and
spent the first couple of rounds looking to close the
distance against his more mobile opponent.
"I feel good, it was exciting to have my first fight in Las
Vegas,” said Hovhannisyan. “I was out for a while with some
injuries and now I'm back on the big stage where I want to
be. First round I was just being patient. He's a smart boxer
who's very fast. I started to press him and break him down
round by round.”
In round five, Hovhannisyan broke through and landed 42
power punches against a fading Navarro. In the final minute
of the round, Hovhannisyan unleashed a flurry of punches
against Navarro, who was unable to throw any return fire,
which eventually forced referee Robert Hoyle to halt the
action 2:45 into the round.
"Every fight with Joe he tells me which round to finish my
opponent,” said Hovhannisyan. “After the fourth round I came
to my corner and he said this is the round. I thought it
might take longer, but it was exactly what Joe said.”
Prior to the pay-per-view, FIRST ON PRIME action streamed
live and for free on Prime Video headlined by super
middleweight contender Kevin Newman (19-3-1, 11 KOs) edging
out a majority decision (98-92, 96-94 and 95-95) over Elijah
Garcia (17-2, 13 KOs) after 10 rounds.
The streaming presentation also featured unbeaten prospect
and Jesus Ramos Jr. stablemate Brayan Gonzalez (5-0, 4 KOs)
score a fifth-round stoppage (1:57) over Brandon Medina
(7-5) in their featherweight matchup.
The opening bout on Prime Video saw 20-year-old prospect
Kaipo Gallegos (12-0-1, 9 KOs) bounce back from a
third-round knockdown to defeat Julian Gonzalez (16-2-1, 12
KOs) in their 10-round lightweight bout. The Las Vegas
native Gallegos earned the unanimous decision by scores of
98-91 and 97-92 twice.
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