Call it a buzzer beating. The reigning WBC super welterweight champ and most interesting man in boxing, Sebastian Fundora, delivered as interesting a knockout as memory serves while retaining his title Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Fundora, the tallest 154-pound champ in history (6-foot-5.5 inches) and someone who taunts opponents about the ease with which he makes weight, wounded pesky challenger Ermal Hadribeaj with a vicious assortment of body blows and haymakers to the head as the last seconds of the last round of their brutal and surprisingly competitive 12-round slugfest ticked away. Then, just as the final bell sounded, Fundora landed a lightning-fast kill shot to Hadribeaj’s chin. Referee Thomas Taylor began counting out Hadribeaj, who was sprawled on the canvas, as most onlookers inside the casino arena were wondering what was going on, given that the clock had run out.
But, no matter what the title of that ubiquitous '80s and ‘90s sitcom implies, you can no longer actually be saved by the bell in boxing, not even the bell ending the last round. And even though Hadribeaj got to his feet just before getting a 10 count, Taylor ruled he was in no condition to continue. And utilizing the powers vested in him by the so-called Unified Rules of Boxing, a package of uniform edicts which since around the turn of the century have been adopted in Nevada and throughout the U.S. that allows for fights to be stopped even after the final bell under such circumstances, Taylor waved his hands over his head and declared a knockout. (Decorated vets Terence Crawford and Tim Bradley, who sat ringside as working media for the TV broadcast, vented at Taylor after the fight for not letting Hadribeaj go home with a decision loss.)
Fundora has been getting more respect from ring veterans and more love from fans over the last couple years. A huge portion of the attention comes from the 28-year-old Californian's stature; he's not nicknamed the Towering Inferno for nothing. Tommy Hearns, an all-timer at super welter, was considered freakishly tall for his weight class when he ruled the division in the 1980s and 1990s at 6-foot-1. A lot of Fundora's popularity also comes from him appearing at all times to be having more fun than almost anybody else trying to make a living in this brutal profession.
In interviews promoting the Hadribeaj fight, Fundora howled while telling tales of posting photos on social media of pancakes and steaks he was shoveling down during training camp while many other fighters would be having water for dinner. His fighting weight, he said, is the same as his walk-around weight. His closest competition for happiest pro pugilist is his sister, Gabriela Fundora, an undefeated world champ in the women’s flyweight division. Gabriela worked her brother’s corner for Saturday's fight, and between rounds they could be seen smiling and joking with one another.
But, as the bout's violent denouement showed, he took things serious when he had to. In his post-fight interview, Fundora admitted he had trouble early on figuring out Hadribeaj, an Albanian national and former MMA practitioner who was virtually unknown in boxing before taking a unanimous decision win over previously undefeated Frenchman Bakary Samake in the spring. At times against Fundora, Hadribeaj did seem more eager to wrestle than throw blows, and had two points deducted by Taylor for refusing to stop grappling despite warnings.
But Fundora also said he never lost faith that he’d eventually figure his unorthodox opponent out. Fundora said he stepped up his body attack late in the fight after realizing Hadribeaj, who rarely let on visually that he was hurt, was “making a noise” whenever he got hit in the midsection.
Punch stats showed Fundora out-threw and outhit the so-called Albanian Sniper by wide margins, and he was way up on all scorecards when he landed the showstopping thumper. Yet even though he would have retained his title had the ref left things up to the judges, Taylor’s 12th-hour knockout ruling is more than academic. The stoppage could be good for boxing, and great for Fundora.
Fundora was expected to win by walkover. Had the bout gone to a decision, the post-fight talk would have no doubt been weighted toward how the beanpole brawler wasn’t all he’s cracked up to be. The featured clips would be of Hadribeaj absorbing a non-stop array of uppercuts and body blows while rarely showing damage or even slowing down, as well as those showing the vertically challenged underdog continuously shouldering Fundora into corners, like he did for about 11.5 rounds. If Fundora had never figured out how to use his ridiculous reach advantage to put away an untested no-name like Hadribeaj, what chance would he have of doing so when he’s thrown in the ring against seasoned, talented, bigger-named champs?
But, knockouts sell. That final Fundora punch, a from-the-heels bomb that sent Hadribeaj flying and extended the winner's stoppage streak to four, makes for a helluva KO clip to market his next outing. Obsessives of the sweet science, including Crawford and Bradley, are all now clamoring for Fundora to face Jaron “Boots” Ennis, the undefeated Philly phenom and holder of the WBO super welterweight belt, in a unification bout. Ennis is coming off a whale of a knockout win over a game but green Xander Zayas in June in Brooklyn.
By the end of the weekend, Fundora-Ennis was already being hailed as the "it" fight for 2027. Fundora, when asked in Vegas who’s got next, said bring on the fabled Boots.
“We’ll break him down,” Fundora said. “Like we did this guy, like we did the last guy, and guy before that and the guy before that and the guy before that. We’ll keep breaking guys down.”
As Fundora called Ennis out, he never stopped smiling.
