Fernando Barbosa of ESPN Deportes is reporting that the long-mentioned junior middleweight title bout between Errol Spence and WBC/WBO champ Sebastian Fundora is set to take place in late January at either Cowboy Stadium or the training facility in Arlington, Texas.
Erroll Spence Vs. Sebastian Fundora
Cowboy Stadium or Cowboy Training facility
End of January 2025.
Looking forward. Do or die for Erroll IMO.#ESPNKnockOut
— @BarbosaBox (@BarbosaBox) September 25, 2024
Spence (28-1, 22 KOs) was brutally removed from his top dog welterweight status (and of the IBF/WBA/WBC belts in his possession) in July of 2023 by WBO titlist Terence Crawford, who stopped the Desoto, Texas native in nine mostly one-sided rounds.
The brutal dismantling pushed Spence into a degree of inactivity that bordered on retirement. And, despite occasional buzz that first said he would be coming for Crawford in a rematch and then that he’d be moving up to 154 for a try at Fundora’s titles, no real movement has been made towards a Spence return.
This latest report, however, is the first where a somewhat specific date has been coupled with a somewhat specific venue.
If true, the 34-year-old Spence would be coming into his world title fight after 18 months of inactivity– a considerable challenge for a fighter coming off a brutal loss and challenging for a world title in a higher weight class.
The 26-year-old Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs) is coming off the biggest win of his career, decisioning Tim Tszyu for the WBO 154 lb. title and the vacant WBC 154 lb. title in late March, as a late substitute for the injured Keith Thurman.
The achievement of the Tszyu win would be somewhat asterisked for Fundora, however. The Australian and defending champ would be hampered by a deep cut on his scalp early on that gushed blood into his eyes throughout the contest.
Still, it was a significant victory for the gangly and awkward nearly 6-foot-6 southpaw and it was a praise-worthy comeback after a seven-round knockout loss to Brian Mendoza eleven months prior.
For Fundora, beating a name like Spence– despite Spence’s inactivity– would be another career booster and attention grabber.
The big detail ahead of all these plans is that, as newly-crowned interim WBO 154 lb. champ, Terence Crawford is supposed to have first crack at Fundora and the two sides have until this Friday to come to an agreement or have the bout go to purse bid.
Crawford has yet to fully commit to a Fundora fight as he continues to wait on the possibility of grabbing a shot at Canelo Alvarez next. If Crawford-Fundora goes to purse bid and the Spence-Fundora fight is actually a “for real” possibility, though, expect Fundora to vacate his WBO title for the likely richer (and perhaps more winnable) Spence fight. It’s probably not a coincidence that this Spence-Fundora story has been leaked to the press right now, two days ahead of the Crawford-Fundora negotiations deadline.
Paul Magno has over forty years of experience in and around the sport of boxing and has had his hand in everything from officiating to training. As a writer, his work has appeared on Yahoo Sports, Fox Sports, Fight Hype, Max Boxing, Boxing.com, Inside Fights, The Queensberry Rules, Overtime Heroics, Bleacher Report, and Premier Boxing Champions. He is currently the owner and managing editor or The Boxing Tribune. You can follow his Twitter/X account, @boxing_tribune, for breaking boxing news, analysis, and sometimes NSFW commentary. For Advertising, Inquiries, etc., send him an email here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com