Sebastian Fundora and Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford achieved a scenario expected by all observers.
The Ring has learned that the two junior middleweight titles have reached an agreement ahead of his extended deadline. The two were instructed by the WBO to negotiate terms for an arranged title consolidation fight. A ten-day reprieve was granted, but still due to a head-to-wallet bid on Thursday.
The originally scheduled Fundora-Crawford bout was an extension of a decision that was applied under the conditional terms by the sanctioning body in March.
It came in his approval for Fundora to challenge previously undefeated titleholder Tim Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs).. Fundora won their blood-soaked March 30 Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Prime pay-per-view headliner by split decision. He also picked up the vacant WBC 154-pound title with the win.
Crawford holds the WBA title and the interim WBO belt at 154.
Rather than a unification fight, however, Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs) and Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) will be heading in separate directions. The matter is still pending approval from the WBO, which has the right to reject and instead proceed with the purse hearing.
A previous ruling called for Fundora to at least defend his WBO 154-pound title against Crawford no later than December 31, 2024. Fundora is the WBO and WBC title holder. Crawford holds the WBA belt and the interim WBO junior middleweight title. His designation as WBO ‘Super Champion’ allows him to force a mandatory title shot at any time.
However, several parties with knowledge of the situation have informed The Ring that Crawford will instead allow Fundora to enter a voluntary title defense.
Such a move would presumably open the door to a long-rumored clash between Fundora and former welterweight titleholder Errol Spence (28-1, 22 KOs). That bout has been discussed for months, more so after Fundora was medically cleared to resume his career following his March 30 title win over Tim Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs).
Spence has not fought since a lopsided ninth-round loss to Crawford last July 29 in Las Vegas. The feat saw Crawford win The Ring Championship and fully unify all the alphabet titles at welterweight.
Crawford has only fought once since. That came at 154, where he defeated Israil Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs) on August 3 to win the WBA title and the vacant interim WBO belt.
A three-belt unification clash against Fundora is appealing to fans and important to crown a new king at 154.
Another fight, however, occupied Crawford’s mind far more.
The Ring’s no. 3 pound-for-pound competitor has spoken openly of his desire to hold out for a superfight with four-division champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs).
The interest remains one direction for now. Alvarez—the reigning RING, WBC, WBA and WBO super middleweight champion—had previously dismissed the bout when asked about it. He remains non-committal about that game or any other for now.
For months, Fundora has been linked to a potential title defense against Spence, which – if materialized – would take place in the first quarter of 2025.
The match was put on hold for months, largely due to greater clarification required about Fundora’s mandatory title defense obligations.
PBC cannot move forward with Fundora-Spence or any other planned fight for his 6’6″ junior middleweight title until this matter is resolved. The agreement reached between parties is an important step in that direction. All that remains is for the WBO to decide on the subject matter.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Follow @JakeNDaBox
