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Sebastian Fundora successfully defended his WBC junior middleweight title for the third time with a dominant sixth-round technical knockout of former welterweight champion Keith Thurman Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Laa Vegas.
From the outset, Fundora (24-1-1, 16 knockouts) used his 6-foot-5 ½-inch frame and 80-inch reach to control the distance, keeping Thurman (31-2, 23 KOs) at arm’s length while also landing body shots that ultimately wore Thurman down.
Fighting for just the third time since losing his welterweight title to Manny Pacquiao in July 2019, Thurman took a beating in the fifth round, with Fundora landing 36 of 80 punches, the highest output by any of Thurman’s opponents. The beatdown continued in the sixth round, with referee Thomas Taylor stopping the fight at 1:17.
"All respect to Keith, that's why I had to train so hard," Fundora said during his postfight interview. "That's why I worked so hard to prove to him, to prove to the world that I am the best 154.
"It was a lot easier than I expected. I was a little nervous today because he's such a big name, but we got in there and I remind myself as soon as we step through everything, this is my world. You're in my world."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the pound, rising heavyweight contender Moses Itauma scored his most impressive victory to date with a fifth-round knockout of Jermaine Franklin Jr. in Manchester, England.
Franklin (24-3, 15 knockouts) previously went the distance with former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and former heavyweight title challenger Dillian Whyte. However, he proved no match for Itauma’s (14-0, 12 KOs) punch volume or movement, eventually getting caught with a left uppercut in the fifth round that put Franklin down for the count.