Tszyu vs Fundora fight: Sibling rivalry providing motivation for Sunday’s huge fight
It’s not just the Tszyu family that has boxing running through their blood, with Sebastian Fundora’s world champion younger sister providing him with all the motivation he needs for Sunday’s mega fight.
Sebastian Fundora has added motivation against Tim Tszyu this weekend, with the ‘Towering Inferno’ desperately hoping to upstage his world champion sister, Gabriela, by becoming a unified world champion first.
Fundora’s younger sister is the reigning IBF flyweight world champion, winning the belt last October and defending it in January.
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In a classic case of sibling rivalry, the 26-year-old Sebastian is now intent on claiming two world titles before Gabriela does.
“She beat me to winning a world title already, but I have two belts in front of me this weekend, so hopefully I can become the unified world champion before her,” Fundora said. “She’s world champion, she knows what she’s doing, she’s only 21-years-old but she looks like a veteran.”
The entire Fundora clan has boxed at some stage, including father, Freddy, and mother Monique, with all six kids trained by their old man.
While Tszyu is looking to follow in his father’s footsteps by becoming a unified boxing world champion, Fundora is looking to cap off his own boxing family’s most spectacular achievement.
“We’ve trained very hard for this and I’m going to become the world champion on Saturday,” he said.
“Then my father will be named trainer of the year, I believe, because of what he’s done with my sister and what he’s done with me all in the space of six months.”
Tszyu’s camp has been planning for a multimillion dollar mega-fight against Terence Crawford if the Aussie wins this weekend.
Fundora said he doesn’t feel overlooked, but bristled at questions about Tszyu fighting Crawford.
“Honestly, I could care less about that,” he said. “I’m not fighting Terence Crawford, I’m fighting Tim Tszyu.
“I’m thinking about this fight.
“Whatever they talk about outside of the ring – they can say they’re fighting Mike Tyson – but I’m just focused on Saturday.”
Fundora also hit back at Tszyu’s claims his jaw is gone after his stunning knockout defeat at the hands of Brian Mendoza last year.
‘The Towering Inferno’ was dominating the WBC interim world title bout in April, and had won all of the first six rounds according to two judges’ scorecards.
But Mendoza landed a thunderous left hand to Fundora’s jaw in the seventh and the man mountain was counted out for his first professional defeat.
“I know exactly what I did wrong in that last fight, I put my hands down coming forward and that’s a big no-no in boxing,” he said. “If you make that mistake, it costs you.
“I felt comfortable, I was winning the fight the whole time. Mendoza wasn’t a problem, I made the mistake and I paid for it.”
Despite the size advantage he takes into every fight, Fundora enjoys getting in close and making it a scrap, but plans on being smarter this time around.
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“I’m using my brain a lot more,” he said. “I’m going to use my head and figure it out.
“He’s a good pressure fighter, he’s a puncher and with 10 ounce gloves on, anything can happen.
“But I’ll use my smarts and figure it out. This fight to crown the best fighter at 154 pounds and I’m ready to become a world champion.”
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