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Sebastian Fundora and Keith Thurman Talk About Their Upcoming Clash in Vegas
Sebastian Fundora and Keith Thurman Talk About Their Upcoming Clash in Vegas
By TSS Special Correspondent Lauren Rodriguez — TGB Promotions took over the artistic Mayan Theater in Los Angeles this past Tuesday (Sept. 2) to promote a night of fights for WBC title belts.
Taking the ring come October 25th at the MGM Grand will be super welterweights Sebastian “The Towering Inferno” Fundora (23-1-1, 15 KOs) and Keith “One Time” Thurman (31-1-0, 23 KOs). Prime Video pay-per-view will stream the TGB Promotions card.
Fundora will be defending his WBC super welterweight title against the former unified welterweight champion Thurman. This will be the Coachella native’s third title fight this year while Thurman is coming off a March win against Brock Jarvis in Australia after three years of inactivity.
As usual, “The Towering Inferno” towered over his opponent by 3/4th of a foot. Thurman stood on top of a folding chair during the pair’s faceoff photo so he could ‘look into his eyes.”
“He’s a legend. He’s a future Hall of Famer for sure. You know, just grabbing a name like that and putting it on my resume, I think it’s going to be very good for me in the future,” said Fundora.
Thurman noted Fundora’s loss against Brian Mendoza in 2023, saying Fundora continues to have PTSD after taking a knee mid-round and being unable to stand for the referee’s count.
Fundora shrugs off the comment.
“My mind’s very strong, you know, my dad makes sure of that. I think people talk about PTSD, whatever it’s called, because those are things to focus on. You know, people tend to focus on those things because they have it themselves. You know, he lost to Pacquiao….I’m not focused on that. I’m focused on October 25th, fighting with the former champion, winning and retaining my championship.”
Thurman spoke about his injuries that led to a hiatus in his career and the lack of available and willing opponents in his weight class. The 36-year-old thanked Fundora for taking the fight that many others have rejected.
“I always heard he was a good kid, but he is because it’s the right thing to fight Keith Thurman. Not only does it feel right, not only is it going to be a great fight, but this man has options. You want to know why I had to go to Australia because everyone is too busy fighting everybody else, leaving Keith Thurman on the shelf,” said Thurman.
Thurman also acknowledged the promise to uphold his late coach Ben Getty’s statement that Thurman would be a world champion.
“He told the world that I’ll be champion of the world one day. So I just wanted to make his vision a reality and I’ve done that, and I just want to solidify my legacy by moving up in weight. I held it down at 147. The time is now to be at 54. And I have this opportunity to grab the world title against a tremendous world champion.
“One Time” is not just about landing one big punch, but one big punch occurs when you make one mistake. One mistake, it’s all it takes, you know? And I’m gonna sit there round after round after round. I’m gonna be grinding from the outside to the inside, from the outside to the inside, shifting, moving, grooving,” he said.
Fulton vs Foster
The co-main event will include WBC featherweight champion Stephen Fulton (23-1, 8 KOs) against O’Shaquie “Ice Water” Foster (23-3, 12 KOs) in a battle for Foster’s WBC super featherweight world title.
Fulton will be moving up a weight class after defeating Brandon Figueroa in February. Fulton appeared unfazed of Foster’s comments about his inability to win emphatically. A win from the Philadelphia native would fulfill his desire to become a three-division champion.
“No matter what division I stepped in, I always was top five when I entered the division,” said Fulton.
The WBC title fights will be held October 25th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The fight card will be broadcast on Prime Video PPV.
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