It has been a long and winding road for junior middleweight Chordale Booker, but, finally, his title shot has come.
Booker will attempt to capture Sebastian Fundora’s WBO and WBC junior middleweight belts on March 22 at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
Booker, 33, was a blue-chip prospect at one time. He was an Olympic alternate for the 2016 U.S. Olympic team and a fighter seen with a lot of potential. However, there have been some missteps. Booker’s biggest step-up fight to date saw him knocked out in the first round by power-puncher Austin “Ammo” Williams. Since that fight, he has fought regionally six times, built his record up and he has a world-ranking that has positioned him for his current fight. Two fights before, he had an uncomfortably close fight with Sanny Duversonne.
“Honestly, I’m fine with it,” Booker told BoxingScene. “Like the worst thing that could have happened to me in boxing already happened. If I lost in the first round, I already know what that feels like.”
Meanwhile, Fundora endured what Booker faced as well. Fundora was knocked out by Brian Mendoza only to win a split-decision over Tim Tszyu in his next fight, capturing the WBO and WBC junior middleweight titles.
Fundora, 21-1-1 (13 KOs) of Coachella California, now is looking to cement himself as one of the top names in a division that is always stacked with talent. Fundora was originally expected to face former unified welterweight title holder Errol Spence Jnr. That fight didn’t happen, which has set the stage for Booker.
“I was really shocked when I got the fight, but it made sense to me at the same time too,” Booker, 23-1 (12 KOs), said. “Because Spence was the original opponent and I’m in the top five as a southpaw. There aren’t many southpaws. He probably was already getting ready for a southpaw. I think it just made the most sense to switch over to a fighter who was relatively the same height. I might not fight the same way that Spence does, but he had already prepared for this kind of fight.”
Booker is now a full-time fighter, at least for this fight. Booker has worked as a fitness trainer during his downtime to help with his income while chasing his dream in the ring of being a titleholder. Now, he is learning what it feels like when things begin to change.
“It’s been an adjustment having to tell clients I’m not available,” Booker said. “It’s been refreshing. The magnitude of the fight is something I get. I think a lot of people are counting me out. I think a lot of people will be impressed and surprised about the level of talent that I have.”
For Booker, since his big loss something happened for him with boxing. His passion returned. Now, what motivates him to get back to this point is fueling him to win this fight.
“I fell in love with the sport again after my first loss,” Booker said. “I wanted to be able to fight on this level. I want to fight the best fighters. I think a lot of people sell themselves short because they’re afraid to take risks. I’m such a competitor. I wanted to just prove to myself that I knew I could do this. I knew it wasn’t my night; I knew that fight wasn’t me. I wanted to give myself a real chance. This is a real opportunity to help me learn if I can make it or not, because I really have a strong love that came back for the sport of boxing.”
Lucas Ketelle took an unconventional path to boxing, eventually finding his stride in gyms and media. For the past decade, he has hosted the “Lukie Boxing” podcast, filmed training camps for fighters like Arnold Barboza Jnr, Mikey Garcia and Caleb Plant, and worked with top professionals such as Mike Bazzel. Ketelle is also an author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for ProBox TV, BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @LukieBoxing.
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