By Mauricio Sulaimán – President of the WBC Son of José Sulaimán
Sebastian Fundora is a great boxing champion inside the ring and a true giant in life with outstanding qualities.
His physique is completely atypical for the sweet science: standing at an imposing 6’6″ (1.98 m), he competes in the super welterweight division. Although he could easily win his fights from the outside by leveraging his massive reach advantage, he chooses to give the fans a thrilling show by engaging on the inside, making every single one of his bouts intense and fiercely competitive. He is also the brother of Gabriela Fundora, making them the only brother-sister duo to reign as simultaneous world champions.
Sebastian is humble, kind, engaging, and above all, fiercely loyal. This character stems from a close-knit, hardworking family led by his father, Freddy, who runs his own business and serves as head trainer for both siblings. Notably, Freddy does not take a single cent from his children’s purses. Their promoter is Sampson Lewkowicz, who has represented them with unyielding passion and determination, guiding their careers without a formal contract. Likewise, they fight under the PBC banner without a written contract. They are among the finest ambassadors our organization could ever hope for, and their pride in belonging to the WBC family and wearing the green and gold belt is simply magnificent.
For world champions, there are three distinct types of bouts: voluntary defenses, where they may select a challenger from among the top 15 ranked fighters; unification fights against a champion from another sanctioning body; and mandatory defenses, which are ordered by the WBC for the champion to face the official mandatory challenger.
This rule was introduced by the World Boxing Council many decades ago because supreme fighters of exceptional caliber were frequently avoided by champions who deemed them too dangerous. Immortal legends such as Archie Moore and Mantequilla Nápoles had to wait six grueling years as the #1 contenders before finally receiving their title shots. Both went on to become iconic Hall of Fame champions, but many other fighters waited endlessly, and some were denied their rightful opportunity altogether.
While it remains a fundamental mechanism of fairness, the mandatory rule has lost some of its original purpose over time—which was to guarantee that a champion faces the top contender in the division at least once a year. Today, with four globally recognized sanctioning bodies, one organization crowning multiple champions within the same weight class, and the proliferation of interim titles, the overall quality and standing of mandatory status have diluted. Consequently, the WBC has implemented regulatory adjustments, evaluating each division individually while carefully considering all unique variables.
It is a profound injustice to compel a world champion—especially an elite one—into a mandatory defense when there is no challenger who genuinely warrants mandatory status.
Ermal Hadribeaj earned his status as mandatory challenger after defeating the previously unbeaten Bakary Samake to capture the WBC Silver championship. The Albanian-born fighter entered the ring with an impressive record of 23 wins, 1 loss, 1 draw, and 8 knockouts. Hadribeaj was leading on the judges’ scorecards by the midway mark, forcing champion Fundora to dig deep into his arsenal to retain his title. The twelfth and final round was legendary: Fundora hurt his challenger and landed a ferocious right hook at 2:59, sending Hadribeaj to the canvas and closing the bout with a dramatic final-round knockout.
The upcoming week will be packed with activity. We will officially announce our 64th Annual WBC Convention alongside the Ministry of Tourism of the State of Guerrero. The convention will take place at the Mundo Imperial in Acapulco, serving as the global epicenter where the boxing community will gather to review the achievements of 2026 and map out our vision for 2027.
On Saturday the 26th, action-packed championship fights await: WBC Super Lightweight Champion Dalton Smith of England will make his mandatory defense against former world champion Alberto Puello of the Dominican Republic on British soil. Meanwhile, Mexico’s Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete will pursue his first green and gold belt following a celebrated career across other sanctioning bodies, clashing with solid WBC Super Featherweight Champion Oshaquie Foster in an exciting unification matchup.
To cap off the month, global superstar and reigning ring icon Saúl “Canelo” Alvarez will seek to reclaim his WBC Super Middleweight World Championship against current titleholder Christian Mbilli in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 31st.
Did You Know…?
The boxing world lost one of its great figures this past week with the passing of Lic. Juan José Torres Landa at the age of [Age pending]. He was a strong, deeply respected leader in the sports industry who served as President of the Mexico City Boxing Commission and was best known as the legendary manager of hall-of-famer Salvador Sánchez and many other champions. May God hold him in His Holy Glory.
Anecdote
There is a famous phrase commonly used in everyday life: “Saved by the bell.” Back in the wild era of boxing when rules were scarce, a downed fighter could literally be rescued if the bell rang. Cornermen would rush in, carry their fighter back to the corner, and do everything in their power to revive him so he could continue fighting.
For many years, a revised rule allowed the bell to save a downed fighter strictly in the final round. Ultimately, Don José and the WBC permanently changed this rule: the bell no longer saves the fighter. If a knock-down occurs, the boxer must rise on his own strength, and the referee must assess his condition to determine if he can safely continue. Only after the referee completes this evaluation and resumes or stops the fight can the bell sound to end the round or bout.
This past Saturday, Fundora dropped his opponent with just one second remaining on the clock. Ermal managed to stand up but was in no condition to proceed, leading the referee to rightly wave off the fight and declare the knockout victory.
I welcome your comments at contact@wbcboxing.com
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