WBC Champion Sebastian Fundora Will Defend Title In Fight vs. Keith Thurman

WBC Junior Middleweight Champion Sebastian Fundora is scheduled to defend his title against former champion Keith Thurman in October. The fight is set to take place in Las Vegas as part of a PBC on Prime PPV card. There are reports of the event being scheduled for Oct. 25 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, although a date and venue have yet to be confirmed at this time. 

Fundora vs. Thurman For the WBC Junior Middleweight Title

Fundora (23-1-1, 15 KOs) defended his belt with a round-seven stoppage victory against Tim Tszyu in July. It was a rematch of the March 2024 bout when Fundora stepped up on short notice to replace an injured Thurman and won via a split decision. He dominated the second bout, and Tszyu stayed on the stool in his corner instead of going out for the eighth round. 

The July fight was also on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao vs. Mario Barrios main event. Pacquiao ended his retirement to return to the ring, and the bout resulted in a majority draw. He recently rose to the top spot in the WBC welterweight rankings. 

Thurman (31-1, 23 KOs) has only fought twice since losing by decision to Pacquiao in 2019. He has struggled to remain healthy. In his last fight in March, Thurman defeated Brock Jarvis by third-round knockout. This will be his second bout at 154 pounds after a long reign as a welterweight titleholder from 2016-2019. Xander Zayas recently claimed the WBO junior middleweight champion and became the youngest current world champion.

Thoughts

Thurman, 36, has proven that when healthy, he is still a force to be reckoned with. The former unified welterweight champion will be looking to bring a belt home again. Fundora, 27, will now have to battle it out with the fighter that he replaced as the world champion. This will be his third title defense.