Sebastian Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs) put on a masterclass performance, dominating previously unbeaten Tim Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) to capture his WBO junior middleweight title as well as the vacant WBC strap on Saturday night in a bloodbath at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Whatever chance Tszyu had of retaining his WBO title, he lost it after suffering a bad cut on his scalp from an elbow by the 6’5″ Fundora in the third round. Unable to see through the blood from that point on, Tszyu was handicapped and unable to spot all the incoming from Fundora.
What made things even more difficult for Tszyu was the high work rate of Fundora, who overwhelmed Tim with punches that he couldn’t match.
The scores were 116-112 for Tszyu, 116-112, and 116-112 for Fundora.
Tszyu tried his best, but he couldn’t deal with these things from Fundra:
1. High punch output
2. Height & reach
3. Superior Cardio
It was too soon for Tszyu to be given this type of fighter after Keith Thurman pulled out, and he needed more training time to prepare for the height of Fundora. Twelve days’ notice wasn’t adequate for Tszyu, and he looked lost tonight.
Even if Tszyu had been prepared, he didn’t have the cardio or the high work rate to match all the shots that Fundora was throwing. Now, fans realize why Erickson Lubin lost to Fundora. He couldn’t handle his size or work rate either, and he took a worse beating that Tszyu did tonight.
Tszyu with Tough Road Ahead
After the fight, Fundora’s promoter Sampson Lewkowicz said that they’ll give Tszyu a rematch, but for now, he wants his fighter to “maximize” his income by fighting Errol Spence Jr. next. He also said he would like to match Fundora against Terence Crawford after he faces Spence.
What this means is Tszyu might end up waiting until those fights take place before he gets a rematch.
