Sebastian Fundora and Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford have ten more days to reach an agreement, one way or another.
A reprieve was granted by the WBO for its primary and secondary 154-pound titles, respectively, to come to terms for their scheduled title consolidation bout. This came because the previous deadline expired without the two parties coming to terms for the duration of September.
Crawford (41-0, 31 knockouts) requested the delay on Monday, which was accepted by all parties involved.
“On 30 September 2024, the WBO received an email communication from lawyer, Mr. Harrison Whitman, on behalf of Terrence Crawford admitted requesting a 10-day extension of the negotiation period to continue discussion of an agreement as ordered. On the same day, Sebastian Fundora’s promoter, Mr. Sampson Lewkowicz, validated the aforementioned petition by email and agreed to the extension.
“Therefore, after the parties have jointly agreed on the 10-day extension of the negotiation proceedings, this Committee will rule accordingly.”
Fundora (21-1, 13 KOs) and Crawford have until Oct. 10 to comply with the terms of the WBO ruling to avoid a purse hearing.
The minimum bid is $200,000 under such a scenario. Crawford would be entitled to the favorable ending given his ‘Super Champion’ designation, even though Fundora holds the full title.
Fundora, the unified WBO and WBC titleholder, is promoted by Sampson Boxing, although TGB Promotions’ Tom Brown is listed as the point of contact for negotiations. TGB is the promoter of record for all Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) events.
Crawford won the interim WBO 154-pound title and the full WBA belt in a decision on August 3 over Israil Madrimov. The Ring’s no. 3 pound-for-pound contestant is a free promotional agent and represented by legal counsel Harrison Whitman. Fundora is with Sampson Boxing, although TGB Promotions’ Tom Brown is listed as the point of contact for negotiations. TGB is the promoter of record for all Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) events.
The originally ordered fight was an extension of a decision made by the sanctioning body according to the conditional provisions his approval for Fundora to challenge the previously undefeated titleholder Tim Tszyu. 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.
“Please note that this committee has granted sanction approval of the Tszyu/Fundora WBO (title fight) on March 25, 2024,” WBO Championship Committee Chairman Luis Batista-Salas noted at the time. “Sanction approval has been granted subject to the winner meeting the Mandatory Challenger in the Jr. Middleweight division Terence “Bud” Crawford within 180 days of the Tszyu/Fundora bout.
“The foregoing condition was essential for purposes of sanction approval. Therefore, in light of the above and according to WBO regulations of World Championship Competitions, the parties are hereby ordered to proceed with negotiations for the WBO Compulsory Jr. middleweight championship to begin.”
Failure to proceed with the bout without the other party’s consent will result in forfeiture of their version of the WBO title.
The distinction is important, as Crawford and Fundora have their sights set on other games.
Crawford has spoken openly of his desire to hold out for a superfight with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs). The interest remains one way, as Alvarez—the reigning RING, WBC, WBA and WBO super middleweight champion—turned the fight down when asked about it. In fairness, Alvarez should defend his crown against Edgar Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) on Sept. 14 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It is not in his nature to look beyond any given task at hand.
For months, Fundora had been linked to a potential title defense against former unified welterweight titleholder Errol Spence Jr. (28-1, 22 KOs). The match has been on hold for months, largely due to greater clarification required about Fundora’s mandatory title defense obligations. Most recent rumors have the two meeting next January in Dallas, Spence’s home region.
Spence has not fought since his one-sided ninth-round loss to Crawford last July 29 for the undisputed welterweight championship. Crawford fully unified the division but has since parted ways with the WBC, IBF and WBO welterweight titles. He has also been relieved as Ring champion, as he is clearly not returning to the weight.
PBC cannot move forward with Fundora-Spence or any other planned fight for his 6’6″ junior middleweight title until this matter is resolved.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Follow @JakeNDaBox
