Sebastian Fundora claims he never vacated his WBO junior middleweight title. He was stripped of the title by the sanctioning body after they “demanded all these things” after he’d made a defense of the WBO belt.
Zayas (22-0, 13 KOs) now holds the WBO title after winning it last summer. Fundora says he’s okay with losing his belt, and he believes he’ll eventually cross paths with Xander for them to fight.
Sebastian states that he no longer cares about trying to become the undisputed champion at 154. He just wants the biggest fights available. The belts are secondary. He’s realizing it doesn’t pay off to fight for titles only because there’s often no money in fighting unpopular champions.
One look at the current 154-lb champions would confirm this. Besides Fundora, these are the other belt-holders:
- Abass Baraou: WBA
- Bakhram Murtazaliev: IBF
- Xander Zayas: WBO
Stripped, Not Vacated: Fundora’s Stance
“I never gave it up. The WBO just took it away. I defended it against the #4 WBO, and then they demanded all these things right away,” said Sebastian Fundora to Sean Zittel, reacting to Xander Zayas saying that he “shouldn’t have lost it in the first place” after he captured the vacant WBO 154-lb belt by beating Jorge Garcia Perez on July 26, 2025.
Fundora successfully defended the WBO belt against #5-ranked Chordale Booker on March 22, 2025. Two days later, the WBO ordered Fundora to begin negotiations to fight Zayas.
“We’re Going To Cross Paths”
“So, Puerto Rican sanction for a Puerto Rican fighter. It makes sense, fine. I’m pretty sure we’re going to cross paths in the future. I say yes to everybody. So, I think a fight against him will be great,” said Fundora.
If Fundora had chosen to defend the WBO against the mandatory Zayas when ordered on March 24, 2025, he wouldn’t have been stripped of the title.
The WBO stripped Fundora on May 2, 2025, after he chose to fight a rematch with Tim Tszyu rather than defend it against Xander. I don’t believe it was a case of Fundora being afraid of Zayas and ducking him.
A Calculated Business Decision
It appeared to be more of a business decision because the payday for the rematch with Tszyu made it worth it to face him, rather than the Top Rank-promoted Zayas, who isn’t a big name in the U.S.
