Errol Spence vs. WBC/WBO 154-lb champion Sebastian Fundora is now gone. The two were supposed to fight on March 29, but the WBO decided not to sanction the contest.
Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs) could face Joey Spencer (19-1, 13 KOs) next. It is doubtful that the WBO will approve that fight either, as Spencer is not in the top 154 ​​at 154. Lance Pugmire reports the possibility of Fundora defending against Spencer. It’s not a huge fight, but there isn’t much time for an opponent to be chosen before March.
No Spence
It’s a good thing Spence won’t be challenging the 6’6″ Fundora for his two titles, as he looked flat in his loss to Terence Crawford in his last fight on July 29, 2023. The last thing Spence needs right now , is to be beaten by the much younger and taller 26-year-old Fundora in his debut at 154, after a long layoff.
The reasons why the WBO does not approve the fight are as follows:
– Spence’s 1.5 year layoff
– Loss in the last battle
– Unranked at 154
– Never fought in the junior middleweight division
In hindsight, it was a crazy idea to use Spence as Fundora’s opponent, given his loss to Crawford in his previous fight, his long layoff, and the fact that he never fought at 154.
He would have been completely undeserving of a title shot against Fundora, but you could say the same thing about Terence Crawford who didn’t rate a world title shot against WBA 154-lb champion Israil Madrimov last August. The fight still happened despite Terence never fighting at 154.
Fans don’t consider Fundora a solid champion given his performance in his last fight against Tim Tszyu and his loss to Brian Mendoza. Beating Tszyu is no big deal, as we saw in his recent third round knockout loss to Bakhram Murtazaliev on October 19th.
The WBO will not approve Fundora/Spence because the latter (1) has been inactive for 1 year and 5 months; (2) a TKO loss in last fight; (3) not rated in 154 lbs., & 4) has never fought in 154 lbs. To rule otherwise would be a disservice to the rest of the 154 world-ranked contenders. https://t.co/R2VgVXAi9V
— Gustavo Olivieri, Esq. (@OlivieriLaw) January 16, 2025
