Errol Spence vs. WBC/WBO 154-lb champion Sebastian Fundora is now off. The two were supposed to fight on March 29th, 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’s questionable whether the WBO would sanction that fight, too, because Spencer isn’t ranked in the top 154 at 154. Lance Pugmire is reporting the possibility of Fundora defending against Spencer. It’s not a great fight, but there isn’t much time for an opponent to be selected before March.
No Spence
It’s a good thing that Spence won’t be challenging the 6’6″ Fundora for his two titles because he looked washed up in his loss to Terence Crawford in his last fight on July 29, 2023. The last thing Spence needs right now is to get beaten up by the much younger and taller 26-year-old Fundora in his debut at 154, coming off a long layoff.
The reasons for the WBO not sanctioning the fight are as follows:
– Spence’s 1.5-year layoff
– Loss in the last fight
– Unranked at 154
– Never having 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 his never having 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 not rating a world title shot against WBA 154-lb champion Israil Madrimov last August. The fight still happened despite Terence never having fought at 154.
Fans don’t view Fundora as a solid champion, given his performance in his last fight against Tim Tszyu and his loss to Brian Mendoza. Beating Tszyu is not a big deal, as we saw in his recent third-round knockout loss to Bakhram Murtazaliev on October 19th.
The WBO would not sanction Fundora/Spence due to the latter being (1) inactive for 1 year & 5 months; (2) a TKO loss in last bout; (3) not rated in 154 lbs., & 4) has never fought in 154 lbs. Ruling otherwise would be a disservice to the rest of the 154 world-rated contenders. https://t.co/R2VgVXAi9V
— Gustavo Olivieri, Esq. (@OlivieriLaw) January 16, 2025
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