Sebastian Fundora stopped Erickson Lubin in an early “Fight of the Year” contender.
Fundora claimed the interim WBC super welterweight title Saturday night from Las Vegas. The event aired live on Showtime and was presented by Premier Boxing Champions.
In a bout that lived up to the pre-fight hype, both men hit the canvas and showed tremendous fortitude to recover from knockdowns and continue to deliver massive blows. It was the six-foot, six-inch Fundora who struck first with a sweeping right uppercut that sent Lubin to the mat during the final seconds of round two.
“I think this was probably my best performance ever,” said Fundora. “It was a back-and-forth fight. He really brought his hammer but I decided to bring my drill. The uppercut was landing like no other. The uppercut is my lucky punch. I’m here in Vegas, so I feel a little lucky, and that’s my lucky punch. It lands most of the time with everybody. Southpaw. Right hand. It doesn’t matter. Once I find that, I feel like the job’s done.”
After rising to his feet after the knockdown, Fundora recovered to out-land Lubin 26 to 12 and 28 to 3 in rounds eight and nine respectively, according to CompuBox. Overall, Fundora out-landed Lubin 255 to 149, while Lubin held a 40% to 36% advantage in punch accuracy. Lubin had early success with his jab, landing 18 over the first three rounds, but only connected on 15 throughout the rest of the action.
In the co-main event, former super welterweight world champion Tony “Superbad” Harrison (29-3-1, 21 KOs) cruised to a unanimous decision, nearly shutting out contender Sergio Garcia (33-2, 14 KOs) across 10-rounds.