Xander Zayas Says Sebastian Fundora Chose Not to Fight Him

Zayas says Fundora avoided mandatory bout while holding belts

Xander Zayas believes Sebastian Fundora had full control to make their fight last year and chose not to take it, a claim that cuts against the idea that the matchup fell apart for unavoidable reasons.

Zayas stepped into the ring after Fundora’s win over Chordale Booker in March 2025, expecting movement toward a mandatory fight, but the champion instead turned toward a rematch with Tim Tszyu. That decision carried a cost, as Fundora was later stripped of the WBO title rather than proceed with the obligation against Zayas.

“He had them before and could have kept them,” Zayas said to Ring Magazine about Fundora. “He lost the belt because he wanted to..”

Sebastian Fundora has built his entire reputation on being a “towering inferno” who doesn’t know how to back up. Avoiding a fight against the 23-year-old Zayas doesn’t exactly fit the DNA of a guy who fought Tim Tszyu with a face full of blood for twelve rounds.

Fundora’s decision to pursue the Tszyu rematch or the Keith Thurman fight likely had more to do with the bottom line than the opponent’s skill.

The rematch with Tszyu and his fight against the former welterweight champion Thurman were bigger commercially and a higher purse than a mandatory defense against a rising, but still developing, Zayas.

Why take a dangerous, high-risk, low-reward mandatory fight when you can take a high-risk, high-reward legacy fight? Fundora likely viewed Zayas as a tough night for less money.

From Zayas’ perspective, he did everything right. He worked his way into the mandatory position, and when the moment came for the champion to defend, the champion chose to let the belt go.

The fact that Fundora was stripped of the WBO title is clear proof for Zayas. In his mind, if you’re a real champion, you don’t just hand over a belt to avoid a specific challenger.

At 23, Zayas is hungry and fast. While Fundora is a volume puncher, Zayas has the technical discipline that can give tall fighters fits.

It’s unlikely Fundora is “scared” of Zayas in the traditional sense. It’s more probable that his management saw Zayas as a headache they didn’t need to deal with yet, especially with bigger checks on the table.

Zayas sounds bitter because he felt his arrival was delayed by boxing politics. However, with Zayas now holding titles and a massive fight with Jaron Ennis coming up on June 27, he’s actually ended up in a position where he might be the one with the leverage if they ever do meet.