LAS VEGAS -- After dominating Sebastian Fundora through two rounds on Saturday, an inadvertent elbow opened a nasty cut on the forehead of rising Australian star Tim Tszyu, producing a two-way, bloody war for the unified junior middleweight championship.
It was Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs), however, who capitalized upon the huge risk of accepting the fight on just 11 days' notice, to rely on his advantages of nine inches in both height and reach to upset the 7-1 favorite Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) via split decision inside T-Mobile Arena.
Two judges scored it for Fundora on scores of 116-112 and 115-113, while the third had it 116-112 for Tszyu. CBS Sports also scored it for Tszyu, 115-113, in one of the bloodiest title fights in recent memory, which capped an explosive pay-per-view debut for Premier Boxing Champions on Prime Video.
"We've been praying for this moment for a long time," Fundora said. "I'm just thankful Tim Tszyu gave me the opportunity."
Fundora, 26, joined his younger sister, 22-year-old Gabriela Fundora, the IBF women's flyweight champion, as the rare siblings in boxing history to each hold world titles. He also set up a huge fight on the horizon when he faced off with former unified welterweight king, Errol Spence Jr., who was in attendance and shared equal interest in making his return from his lone career loss to Terence Crawford in last summer's undisputed showdown.
"It's time to get it on. He has got the big dog, now. Let's go," Spence said. "This is the first time I'm seeing him in person. He has a pretty good height but we will break him down like we always do."
The razor-thin loss was a heartbreaking one for Tszyu, the son of Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu, who was making his Las Vegas and headlining U.S. PPV debut. He was also lighting his giant, southpaw opponent up with hard right hands in Round 2 until the errant elbow from Fundora badly cut him on the hairline.The entire tenor of the fight changed from there despite Fundora, whose nose began gushing in the same round, equaling his opponent's crimson mask covering his entire face. The two fighters showed tremendous heart and resilience as the fight somehow went the distance despite numerous stoppages for the ringside doctor to check Tszyu, whose vision was badly compromised over the final 10 rounds.
"Look, I told you, I'm an old throwback fighter," Tszyu said. "Whatever circumstance, I couldn't see. But all credit to the better man tonight.
"You know, these things happen. The momentum was rolling and swinging hard in the first two rounds and then, boom, you're blinded. Congratulations to Fundora, he's the new king of 154."
Fundora, who was originally scheduled to face Serhii Bohacuk on the PPV main card for the vacant WBC title that was stripped from Jermell Charlo, accepted an upgrade to the main event after former welterweight champion Keith Thurman pulled out with a biceps injury. Fundora also claimed Tszyu's WBO title, along with the WBC, while Bohachuk defeated late replacement Brian Mendoza on Saturday's undercard for the interim WBC title.
The fight also showcased a dramatic shifting in strategy from Fundora, a fan-favorite brawler who usually punts on his size advantages in favor of phonebooth fighting. It's a style that cost him in his last outing in April of last year, when he was ahead on the scorecards late before being knocked out by Mendoza, who went on to lose a decision to Tszyu six months later.
Unable to trade leather with the harder punching Tszyu, Fundora adjusted by boxing from the outside behind a consistent jab that created a conundrum for the judges who were forced to choose between Fundora's consistent touches and Tszyu's desperate counter shots, which often visibly moved Fundora backward.
"The first round, I was like, 'Damn, I didn't want to break my nose today,'" Fundora said. "My dad [trainer Freddy Fundora] said it to my cutman, I've been bleeding my whole life. [Tszyu] is a world class fighter. He was a world champion for a reason. It was an honor to share the ring and make history with him."
Tszyu, 29, was outlanded by Fundora, according to CompuBox, by a margin of 194 to 175. Tszyu held the edge in body shots (57 to 21) but was nearly doubled in jab output. Tszyu was also more efficient in a rare loss for a fighter landing 47% of his power shots and 43% overall. How different was Fundora's strategy in this fight? He landed eight jabs per round after landing just three per round in his previous five fights.
Fundora was all smiles on his walk to the ring and after the victory when he stood across from Spence and verbally accepted the title challenge.
"I think it would be great," Fundora said. "[Spence] is one of the greats, pound-for-pound. If I could get a win over him it would be history again."
The undercard also saw some tremendous action as Isaac Cruz unseated Rolando Romero from his throne atop the junior welterweight division. Cruz scored an eighth-round knockout of Romero after battering his opponent for much of the fight but failing to score a knockdown. Cruz took his WBA crown in the process.
"I was prepared for this. I wasn't here to just fight. I was here to terminate him," Cruz said after the fight. "I did my talking right here in the ring. And I did this not just for me but for everybody that is here at T-Mobile Arena. There's going to be a Mexican champ at 140 pounds for a long time."
Meanwhile, Erislandy Lara made quick work of Michael Zerafa with a second-round knockout to retain his WBA middleweight crown. Lara, 40, is now unbeaten in his last six fights dating back to a 2018 split decision loss to Jarrett Hurd.
"I worked so hard in training because I know that all of these fighters are coming for my title," Lara said. "By staying ready, you don't have to get ready. I have always said that I only need one or two rounds to size my opponent up, and I knew I had him from the very first round. That left hand shot was just a matter of time."
CBS Sports was with you throughout the entire way on Saturday with the live results and highlights below.
Fight card, results
- Sebastian Fundora def. Tim Tszyu (c) via split decision (116-112, 112-116, 115-113)
- Isaac Cruz def. Rolando Romero (c) via eighth-round knockout
- Erislandy Lara (c) def. Michael Zerafa via second-round knockout
- Julio Cesar Martinez (c) def. Angelino Cordova via majority decision (113-113, 114-112, 114-112)
- Serhii Bohachuk def. Brian Mendoza via unanimous decision (118-110, 117-111, 117-111)
Tszyu vs. Fundora scorecard, live coverage
| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tszyu | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 115 |
| Fundora | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 113 |