WBC Super Welterweight World Champion Sebastian “The Towering Inferno” Fundora closed the show in style Saturday night with a final second 12th-round knockout of undefeated mandatory challenger Ermal Hadribeaj in the main event of “The Fight” live on TNT and DAZN from The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and presented by Premier Boxing Champions.
“It was an interesting fight,” said Fundora. “I had to go back and fight on the inside and show everyone again that I can still do that. It was dramatic to knock him out at the last second. But we’ll go back to the gym and fix some things.”
Fundora’s (25-1-1, 17 KOs) fourth world title defense saw the reigning champion weather an early storm from a game Hadribeaj (23-1-1, 8 KOs), who was determined to end the night as Albania’s first boxing world champion. After round one saw him effectively circle and jab his towering opponent, the fight quickly turned into a phone booth battle with both men looking to do damage on the inside.
The strategy to stay on the inside of Fundora led to referee Thomas Taylor twice taking away points from Hadribeaj for holding (rounds three and 11), but allowed the challenger to smother much of Fundora’s early offense. As the fight transitioned to the middle rounds, Fundora’s tremendous work rate eventually began to work through as an onslaught of uppercuts and body shots slowly but surely diminished Hadribeaj’s offense. Overall, Fundora out landed Hadribeaj 202-144 and connected on 56 body shots according to CompuBox.
“I told the ref in the fourth round that I was hurting him,” said Fundora. “I kept landing body shots and was looking for that special shot to get him out of there. I was hitting him in the rib cage the whole time with the left hand and when I went up the middle, I heard the noise that he made. So I just kept touching that and knew it would break him.”
Once again showing a tremendous reserve of energy, Fundora kept that work rate up through round 11, landing 18 more power shots. In the end, Fundora was once again too much for his competition, blasting Hadribeaj with a power left in the closing seconds that sent Hadribeaj down hard and led to the referee ruling the fight a knockout. The official stoppage came at 2:59 of round 12.
After the fight, Fundora was asked about a potential undisputed 154-pound matchup against the winner of a Jaron Ennis vs. Josh Kelly unification.
“I want to go for undisputed in this division,” said Fundora. “We’ll break either Jaron Ennis or Josh Kelly down. Just like the last guy and the guy before that. We’ll keep breaking them down.”
In the co-main event former world champion Armando “Toro” Reséndiz (17-3, 11 KOs) earned a unanimous decision over Australian contender Koen Mazoudier (16-5-1, 6 KOs) in an instant classic slugfest that saw both men land over 150 power punches across 10 rounds in the super middleweight division. Reséndiz took the fight by the scores of 98-92 and 97-93 twice.
“We pulled this off because we had great preparation,” said Reséndiz. “This was the kind of fight that I expected.”
“I had a lot of battles coming into this fight stepping up in weight against a tough opponent,” said Mazoudier. “We gave him a hard fight. I thought I won more than two or three rounds, but he’s a tough, strong fighter. I hope to be back putting on more shows and get the win next time.”
The action heated up in round two as Reséndiz and Mazoudier each declared their desire to go toe-to-toe, with neither taking a step back across the ensuing rounds. Reséndiz looked in control over the first five rounds, using a strong body attack to open up power shots upstairs on his way to building up a 94-58 edge in power shots.
“I had to change my game plan and box and move a little bit because this was a very tough fight,” said Reséndiz.
Mazoudier was able to change the tenor of the fight after proving he could take Reséndiz’s best punches, and used a lead right uppercut to begin to turn the tide. The Australian out landed Reséndiz 76 to 47 in power punches in rounds six through nine to close the gap on his opponent and leave the fight in doubt heading into the final frame.
“There were a lot of close rounds,” said Mazoudier. “I didn’t win the rounds clearly enough. He was the better fighter tonight. I’m very grateful to be in this position and to have my team here supporting me. I hope the fans enjoyed it and I hope they have me back. I feel like I gained some new Mexican fans tonight.”
“I knew this was going to be a tough fight,” said Reséndiz. “He’s an Australian warrior. This is the kind of fight I wanted to give the fans. We clashed in the middle of the ring like warriors.”
Round 10 saw Reséndiz land a fight high 32 power shots, including a series of blows in the final moments that sent Mazoudier backwards and seemingly hurt. Mazoudier was able to stay on his feet and see the final bell, but Reséndiz had already done enough to ensure that he’d continue his climb back toward world title contention.
“My corner was urging me that I had to finish strong and that’s what I did,” said Reséndiz. “We closed out strong.”
Action also saw fast-rising prospect Marco “El Tiburón” Romero (16-0, 14 KOs) deliver his third-straight first round knockout as he scored a sensational one-punch KO of Uruguay’s Matias Ferreira (8-4, 3 KOs) just 1:54 into their super middleweight clash.
Making a quick return to the ring after a dominant performance in August, Romero made Ferreira eat his words after his opponent promised to stop him in four rounds or less at Thursday’s press conference.
“This played out amazingly,” said Romero. “Karma came and hit him and I got him out in the first round.”
Romero targeted the body early and often (11 body shots landed), eventually opening up an angle for him to deliver a blistering right hand that hurt Ferreira badly and sent him to the canvas. While Ferreira was able to get to his feet, he was still wobbly, forcing referee Tony Weeks to halt the bout.
“He was too slow. His speed and experience didn’t matter,” said Romero. “I’m here. The 160 division is on notice. There’s a new face at middleweight and its ‘Tiburón’ Romero.
“I was digging to the body because I knew he would drop his hands. Once I saw the opening, he got bit by the shark.”
After the fight, Romero expressed his desire to continue facing tougher and tougher competition on his way to middleweight gold.
“I’m ready to step it up in opposition,” said Romero. “I’m ducking no smoke. I’m here. I feel amazing and I’m being guided the right way. I’m ready for anybody at middleweight.”
Opening the telecast, undefeated rising middleweight Jaime Osuna (12-0, 5 KOs) edged the previously unbeaten Cristian Cangelosi (13-1-1, 5 KOs) via majority decision after eight rounds of action. Osuna won with two scores of 77-75 overruling one 76-76 card.
“It was a fight that took everything I had from beginning to end,” said Osuna. “I knew my opponent would be good and put me to the test, and I think I was able to show the fans who I am.”
Osuna struck first in the battle of unbeatens, as he appeared to stun Cangelosi in round one with a series of power shots. However it was not long until Osuna was forced to face his own adversity as he suffered a cut under his right eyebrow in round two that he dealt with for the remainder of the bout.
After Cangelosi got himself back in the fight with a strong round four, Osuna reclaimed control by again catching his opponent and hurting him in the opening moments of round five. Cangelosi closed strong, winning the final two rounds on all three cards, but was in too much of a hole in the judges’ eyes to overcome the hard-charging Osuna. Through the eight rounds Osuna landed 107 power shots to Cangelosi’s 75.
“I hope that this is a stepping stone that allows me to fight here in Vegas on cards like this many more times,” said Osuna. “Whoever is next, I’ll be ready.”
The event was promoted by TGB Promotions and Sampson Boxing.
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