Fundora-Spence is not happening, Fundora vs. Joey Spencer Possibly

Errol Spence vs. WBC/WBO 154 lb champion Sebastian Fundora is now off. The two were supposed to fight on March 29, but the WBO decided not to sanction the contest.

Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs) could face Joey Spencer (19-1, 13 KOs). It’s questionable whether the WBO would sanction that fight as Spencer is not ranked in the top 154 ​​at 154. Lance Pagmaier reports on the possibility of Fundora defending against Spencer. It’s not a big fight, but there isn’t much time to choose an opponent before March.

No Spence

It’s a good thing Spence won’t be challenging the 6’6″ Fundor for his two titles as he looked deflated by losing to Terence Crawford in his last fight on July 29, 2023. The last thing Spence needs right now is to be beaten by a much younger and taller 26 -year-old Fundora in his debut at the age of 154, after a long layoff.

The reasons why the WBO did not sanction the fight are as follows:

– Spence’s 1.5 year layoff
– Defeat in the last fight
– Unranked at 154
– I have never fought in the junior middleweight category

In hindsight, it was a crazy idea to use Spence as Fundora’s opponent, given his loss to Crawford in his previous fight, a long layoff and never having fought at 154.

He would be completely undeserving of a title shot against Fundora, but the same could be said for Terence Crawford who didn’t rate a world title shot against WBA 154lb champion Israil Madrimov last August. The fight still happened despite Terence never having fought at 154.

Fans don’t see Fundora as a solid champion, given his performance in his last fight against Tim Tsziu and his loss to Brian Mendoza. Beating Tsziu is no big deal, as we saw in his recent third-round knockout loss to Bahram Murtazaliev on October 19th.

WBO would not sanction Fundora/Spence for being (1) inactive for 1 year and 5 months; (2) losing by technical knockout in the last fight; (3) not rated at 154 lbs., & 4) never wrestled at 154 lbs. A different decision would be a disservice to the rest of the 154 world-ranked contenders. https://t.co/R2VgVKSAi9V

— Gustavo Olivieri, Esq (@OlivieriLav) January 16, 2025