Undisputed flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora hints at April return

COMMERCE, California – Undisputed flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora has told BoxingScene that she anticipates an April return to the ring.

Fundora claimed all four belts in November as she stopped unified 28-year-old Argentinian titleholder Gabriela Celeste Alaniz in the seventh round.

Fundora, 22, the sister of current junior middleweight titleholder Sebastian Fundora, is currently viewed as one of the best fighters in women’s boxing – significant praise, especially given that fighters such as Claressa Shields, Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor remain active.

“We’ll be returning soon,” Fundora told BoxingScene on Thursday. “I think we will probably be fighting in April.”

Fundora, 15-0 (7 KOs), stands out for her size – she stands 5ft 9in – and power. Knockouts are rare in women’s boxing, with two-minute rounds granting fighters fewer chances to land hurtful shots and follow up. But nearly half of Fundora’s fights have ended in stoppages – including one against a unified champion in Alaniz. “I think we made a good statement,” Fundora said of the performance. 

With no name given for her next opponent, Fundora is embracing the future. Brunch Boxing recently conducted an interview with Sampson Lewkowicz (Fundora’s co-promoter along with Golden Boy Promotions), who revealed that Fundora could make a mandatory defense of her IBF title against Marilyn Badillo.

Badillo, a 24-year-old fighter from Mexico, holds a record of 19-0-1 (3 KOs). She most recently fought in December, winning an eight-round unanimous decision over Graciela Cortes Aguilar.

“This year, we’re going to be in for a lot of surprises,” Fundora said. “We’re looking to make our mandatory defense and see what else is going to come up.”

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.