Boxing

Sebastian Fundora vs Xander Zayas Purse Bid Cancelled, Likely Opponents Revealed

Sebastian Fundora vs. Xander Zayas won't be next, Friday's purse no longer happening.
Johan Alyas Blanco|
Xander Zayas (left) and Sebastian Fundora (right).
Xander Zayas (left) and Sebastian Fundora (right). | IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire

A potential unified title fight between Sebastian Fundora and Xander Zayas is no longer on the cards.

Boxing Scene's Lance Pugmire is reporting that Fundora (22-1-1, 14 KOs), who is the unified WBC and WBO junior middleweight champion, is withdrawing from Friday's purse bid to face Zayas (21-0, 13 KOs), who is the WBO mandatory challenger.

As a result, Fundora will be stripped of his WBO title and the purse bid will now take place between the undefeated Zayas and Jorge Garcia Perez (33-4, 26 KOs). Perez is coming off an upset victory over Charles Conwell, beating him by split decision on April 19th.

Fundora will vacate his WBO title and shift his focus to a rematch against Tim Tszyu later this summer. "The Towering Inferno" beat Tszyu (25-2, 18 KOs) by split decision on March 30th, 2024, to win the WBO and vacant WBC titles.

Tszyu is coming off a 4th round stoppage win over Joey Spencer back on April 6th, bouncing back from his first career defeat to Fundora and a third round stoppage loss to IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) in consecutive bouts.

With that win against Spencer, the expectation for Tszyu was to next fight former unified welterweight champion Keith Thurman (31-1, 1NC, 23 KOs) in Tszyu's home country of Australia.

For Zayas, he is coming off a 9th round stoppage over Slawa Spomer on Feb. 14th. And with this potential matchup going to a purse bid, the 22-year-old will be taking a major step up in competition.

This will be the first shot at a world title for both Zayas and Perez. It will also be a matchup between Mexico vs. Puerto Rico, a storied rivalry that's produced some of boxing's biggest moments and best fights.

Purse bids for that vacant WBO title bout will happen Friday in place of Fundora-Zayas, any promoter that has a license with the WBO can bid on the fight, per Pugmire. 

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Johan Alyas Blanco
JOHAN ALYAS BLANCO

Johan Alyas Blanco is a writer for KO On SI. Before joining in March 2025, he worked as a News Producer in Tallahassee and Orlando. He also works for several fight promotions in boxing and MMA, working on social media content. When he’s not writing, Alyas covers boxing on his own YouTube channel, The Split Decision. Blanco has a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from UCF, with a minor in sports business management. Alyas has interviewed several big names in combat sports, including Jorge Masvidal, Edgar Berlanga and Brian Norman Jr. His goal is to bring boxing back to prominence.

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