In a war of attrition, Sebastian Fundora stopped Erickson Lubin after nine brutal rounds at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, NV Saturday night.
Sadly the bout had flown under the radar though many, this writer included, anticipated a tremendous fight.
It was.
The towering Fundora struck first when he wobbled than floored Lubin with an inside right uppercut in the final seconds of round two. Lubin got up on shaky legs. Somehow he made it to the end of the heat.
Lubin looked fully recovered in round three. A number of shots bloodied Fundora’s face. His hammer like punches had him winning three of the first four rounds.
Fundora was hardly finished. If anything, he seemed to enjoy the back and forth action.
Fundora was hardly finished. If anything, he seemed to enjoy the back and forth action.
He ignored Lubin’s body attack to slash his opponent with inside uppercuts. The blows caused the number one contender’s face to swift and swell.
Round seven was damaging for both fighters. Fundora cracked Lubin with a half dozen punches that seemingly had him out on his feet, but Lubin showed championship mettle by turning the tide with an unrelenting series of hooks that eventually forced Fundora to the canvas.
“I got hit with a good punch and I didn’t feel like I needed to get hit again so I took a knee to get a little breather in and I recovered,” said Fundora.
Fundora got up punching, strafing Lubin with vicious headshots in rounds eight and nine. Lubin’s trainer Kevin Cunningham asked referee Russell Mora to stop the fight after round nine. At the time of the stoppage, Lubin led 85-84 on two judges’ cards, with the third judge scoring the fight 85-85.
Source: John J. Raspanti