Sebastian Fundora Vs Keith Thurman: WBC light middleweight title

 

Sebastian Fundora (23-1-1) and Keith Thurman (31-1) is an interesting matchup. I had been a critic of Fundora before, actually picking Timofei Tszyu to beat him. At a moment's glance, he seems the atypical super welterweight, at 6 feet 5 1/2 inches tall, fighting at 154 pounds. I mean, he is one tall glass of water. His reach of 80” alone against the typical opponent is something that will cause jaws to drop. Tszyu couldn’t get inside as often as he had done so against previous opponents. His opponents literally need an arm extension to reach him. He doesn’t get enough credit for being a talented fighter.

Fundora uses volume punches to overwhelm his opponents, quite contrary to what you would expect from a fighter with a reach advantage. In other words, fighting him would be awkward for anyone, something the opposing fighter might be surprised with. Timofei Tszyu fought Fundora twice, and twice he couldn’t adjust. If Keith Thurman is not careful, he could discover himself in a situation that will cause him to panic upon realizing that he is behind on points. Those who couldn’t accept that fact use Tszyu’s cut on the forehead as the excuse for his loss, but in reality, while it may have been a factor, it certainly wasn’t the sole reason. Tszyu just couldn’t charge into Fundora like he does with most of his opponents.

Keith Thurman is a great fighter in his own right, but he has not exactly been Superman since the loss to Manny Pacquiao. He is 8 inches shorter than Fundora, with an 11-inch reach disadvantage. He simply cannot afford to trade punches with the heavy-hitting volume puncher. His own path to victory is to be busy and force Fundora to come in close, and hope he takes the bait so he can land hard punches to the body and head; however, Fundora is a tough wall to tear down. He can take punches and punishments really well.

Fundora’s size, volume punching, agility, and stamina could overwhelm if an opponent is not light-footed and unwilling to run throughout the fight. Even though Sebastian Fundora is not unbeatable, Keith Thurman needs to fight the perfect fight to win. He needs to apply the peek-a-boo fighting method, applying defensive and heavy pressure early in the fight. He needs to make head movement a priority, slipping and ducking, in order to land punches in close quarters. I know this is a little too much to ask, but this is what Thurman needs to do. If he fails to do so, Fundora will smother him with punches all night.

Fundora wins by unanimous 12-round decision on Saturday, March 28, 2026. This fight is long overdue from last year since the hand injury Sebastian Fundora suffered on October 9th during a sparring session.

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