Sebastian Fundora upsets Tim Tszyu to win junior middleweight titles

In one of the bloodiest fights in recent memory, Sebastian Fundora scored an upset with a split decision victory over Tim Tszyu to capture the WBC and WBO junior middleweight titles Saturday night inside T-Mobile Arena.

One judge scored the fight for Tszyu, 116-112, but it was overturned 116-112 and 115-113 for Fundora. Had Tszyu won the final round, the Australian star would have drawn.

Nicknamed “The Towering Inferno” for his lanky 6-foot-5, 154-pound frame, Fundora replaced Keith Thurman (ruptured biceps) on 11 days' notice and entered his first title shot after his first loss.

Last April, Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs), 26, suffered a seventh-round knockout loss to Brian Mendoza in one of the biggest upsets of the year. He entered the ring as a decided underdog and lost the first two rounds on all three cards.

However, the fight appeared to change when Tszyu (24-1, 17 KO) suffered a deep gash to his forehead late in the second round due to an accidental elbow from Fundora. Given the nine-inch height difference, such an accident was more likely than usual.

The blood never stopped flowing into Tszyu's eyes for the rest of the fight. The ringside doctor threatened to stop the fight after the third round, but allowed it to continue. Tszyu, 29, never complained and never stopped coming forward.

“I’m an old fighter from the past,” said Tszyu, who entered the night ranked No. 2 by ESPN at 154 pounds. I couldn't see, but all credit to the man who won tonight. These things happen. The momentum was building, swinging hard in the first two rounds, and then boom, you're completely blindsided .

“It's boxing and it's part of the sport. Congratulations to Fundora. He's the new king of 154. We're going to bounce back.”

Fundora also faced serious adversity. His nose was bleeding profusely upon opening and his mouth was also shedding blood. It looked like a scene from a horror movie, with the faces of the two fighters with crimson masks.

It also resulted in some great action, as Fundora and Tszyu exchanged furiously in a dual 154-pound title fight.

“I didn't want to break my nose today, but… it's boxing, you're going to get hurt and you just have to be smart,” said Fundora, who entered the ring as a boxer ESPN's No. 5 at 154 pounds. “He's a world-class fighter. He was a world champion for a reason.”

Fundora executed a disciplined game plan and used his long left-handed jab to pepper Tszyu from distance. He was never drawn into a firefight, unlike in past fights, particularly Fundora's 2022 TKO victory over Erickson Lubin, in which he was floored, and in his loss to Mendoza, when he was away on the cards before being arrested.

“I've been telling everyone this whole camp that I'm going to use my brain,” said Fundora, who fights out of Coachella, California. He was lined up for a fight with Serhii Bohachuk on PBC PPV on Prime Video before getting the call to replace Thurman.

With this victory, Fundora and his sister Gabriela became the first siblings to become full champions in boxing history. Gabriela retained her IBF flyweight title in January with a TKO victory over Christina Cruz.

“It means the world,” Fundora said.

Tszyu, the son of Hall of Fame boxer Kostya Tszyu, broke out last year with a trio of victories. Last March, he scored a career-best victory with a stoppage of former champion Tony Harrison two months after he was scheduled to face Jermell Charlo for the undisputed championship. This fight was canceled due to Charlo's hand injury.

Tszyu stayed busy with a first-round knockout victory over Carlos Ocampo, then dominated Mendoza in October. Afterwards, Tszyu announced that he would campaign in the United States in the future as he turned his attention to marquee fights.

Thurman introduced a recognizable name to raise Tszyu's profile, but his injury changed plans with 11 days to go. Tszyu adapted on the fly to a 6-foot-5 southpaw after preparing all training camp for a 5-foot-8 orthodox boxer.

And Tszyu seemed in control against Fundora until the cut. He landed a few powerful shots throughout the sequence, but Fundora's active jab won the fight. Tszyu was looking forward to possible summer showdowns with Terence Crawford or Errol Spence Jr., but a rematch with Fundora could be looming.

Fundora might have other ideas, however.

Spence, who was dominated by Crawford via ninth-round TKO in July for the undisputed welterweight championship, entered the ring afterward and then called for a shot at Fundora.

“It’s time to get going,” Spence said. “He's got pretty good size, but we'll see. We'll break him down like we always do.”