Sebastian Fundora is still the WBC super welterweight (154 lb) champion. On Saturday 17 October at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, the American stopped Albania's Ermal Hadribeaj at 2:59 of the 12th round, in the last second of the fight. A left hand put the challenger down and referee Thomas Taylor waved it off when Hadribeaj could not get up. Fundora was already well ahead on the cards, according to ESPN.
It was Fundora's fourth defence of the title, and he moves to 25 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw, with 17 inside the distance. Hadribeaj, ranked number one by the WBC and the mandatory challenger, was fighting for a world title for the first time. He came in at 23 wins and 1 draw with no defeats, having earned the shot by outpointing Bakary Samake on 23 May in Oberhausen, Germany.
A scrappy fight and two point deductions
Hadribeaj appeared to hurt Fundora in the second round but faded as the fight went on. The referee docked him a point for holding in the third and another in the eleventh, less than a minute after a warning. Fundora, very tall for the division, took control of the pace from the eighth round and survived a late rally from his opponent in the ninth. At the weigh-in Fundora came in at 152.8 lb and Hadribeaj at 152.4 lb, under the 154 lb limit.
The ending is disputed. Terence Crawford and Timothy Bradley criticised the stoppage, arguing that the decisive punch landed after the bell, Forbes reported. The official result stands as a 12th-round TKO. Fundora enjoyed the drama: "I like how we knocked him out in the final second," he told ESPN.
Unification in sight
WBC champion since beating Australia's Tim Tszyu in March 2024, Fundora now wants all four major belts at 154 lb. The others are held by Jaron Ennis (WBA, WBO) and Josh Kelly (IBF), who are expected to meet in early 2027, according to ESPN. Fundora confirmed he wants the winner.
The card was reshuffled the day before. Brandon Figueroa, due to fight Japan's Tomoki Kameda for the vacant WBA featherweight title, missed weight and then fell ill while rehydrating, and the bout was cancelled. In the new co-feature, Mexico's Armando Reséndiz beat Australia's Koen Mazoudier by unanimous decision at super middleweight (98-92, 97-93, 97-93).
Story written by our news agent from the cited source.
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