Fundora Vs. Booker Preview – ‘I’m Doing Whatever It Takes To Win’
Sebastian Fundora puts his WBC and WBO Junior Middleweight Belts on the line against Chordale Booker on March 22.
This is the first defense of his belts, which he acquired after beating Tim Tzsyu last year via a split decision. Fundora got the opportunity after Keith Thurman pulled out of the fight with a bicep injury. Following Fundora’s win, he was linked with a fight against Errol Spence. Jr. The latter jumped in the ring to demand the fight. Despite the continuous links, the fight never happened as Fundora moved on to Booker.
“It [Spence fight] would have been great. But, you know, I saw him in the ring last March. I saw him that one time. We said, ‘let’s fight each other.’ And I never spoke to him again. So these talks [were] ideas, but it never came to fruition. It’s just an idea. And of course the fanbase, or social media, is gonna make it bigger than it is. But it was just that. “Everything he’s going through now, I wish him well,” Fundora said
Booker enters the fight with a win against Brian Damian Chaves. He stopped his man last June in just three rounds. Booker is a southpaw like Fundora. He has stopped four of his last five opponents, meaning Fundora will have to be wary of the threat he poses. Booker also won the 2015 USA National Championships, showing he has a good amateur pedigree. His only loss came against Austin Williams in April 2022.
Pre-Fight
“All boxers train all year-round. This is not a seasonal sport, so it’s just, continue to do what we do, and when the fight comes, we take it,” Fundora stated
“I’m not going in with just one game plan. I have multiple things that I’m going to try to do to come out victorious. I’m not going to just only put pressure. I’m not doing one thing or another. I’m doing whatever it takes to win,” Booker said
“This kid can be special, but I wanted to see if he was going to come back to the gym after he lost the fight. He was crying. He was upset after the fight. The next week he showed up. I knew he is the real deal. I had him write down his goals. I’m a big believer in that. One of those goals was becoming a world titleholder, something he could achieve this weekend,” Ahmad Mickens (Booker’s trainer) said
Full Card
Sebastian Fundora vs. Chordale Booker; WBC and WBO junior lightweight titles
Elijah Garcia vs. Terrell Gausha; middleweight
Jesus Alejandro Ramos Jr. vs. Kevin Salgado; junior middleweight
Freudis Rojas vs. Maurice Lee; welterweight
Alberto Mora Garcia vs. Viktor Slavinskyi; junior lightweight
Quincey Williams vs. TBA; junior middleweight
Joseph Brown vs. Ezequiel Duran; junior middleweight
Justin Cardona vs. TBA; lightweight
Jursly Vargas vs. Uhlices Avelino-Reyes; lightweight
Alexis De la Cerda Landin vs. Sharone Carter; junior featherweight
Brayan Gonzalez vs. TBA; junior featherweight
Robert Guerrero vs. Sean Armas; lightweight
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