By: Hans Themistode
Every 154th-place candidate calling out Jermell Charlo’s name after an explosive win has become the norm. Participating in that very ceremony was the newly crowned WBC interim player, Sebastian Fundora.
The 6’6″ contender wasted no time calling out the unified champion by name when he put the final nail in Erickson Lubin’s coffin just weeks ago.
On April 9, at the Virgins Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, Fundora and Lubin engaged in a war of the year. After dropping his man in the second round, Lubin roared back, sending the monstrously tall candidate to the bracket for the first time in his career in the seventh round.
Although Fundora seemed unsteady on his feet, he eventually regained his composure. As a result, he hit Lubin, forcing him to throw the towel in the corner of the house. The moment she was crowned provisionally, Fundora brazenly set her eyes on Charlo.
Undisturbed by another call from someone who ranks high at £154, Charlo followed Fundora in the steps. In the minds of Houston natives, the contest’s perpetual caption simply accompanies the territory.
Charlo told a group of reporters: “When you become a champion like this, you have to have the following imperative. “In 2017, I took down the number one guy, turned around and took down the other number one guy.”
At some point, if Fundora continued to play rough in the competition, Charlo was well aware that a confrontation with the tall candidate could become inevitable. For now, however, Charlo believes he has bigger fish to fry.
On May 14, in Los Angeles, California, Charlo will try to get his love rival Brian Castano to bed. The two men had initially fought for nearly a calendar year, on July 17. Though both men raised their hands in victory after 12 rounds back and forth, neither was satisfied with the final result because they were forced to settle for a decisive draw.
For now, being the first undisputed champion of the tournament since Winky Wright in 2001, is the most important thing for Charlo. But that doesn’t mean the honest star isn’t willing to play the role of matchmaker. With Castano receiving his undivided attention, Charlo believes Fundora should face a certain heavyweight from Omaha, Nebraska, who also recently called him out.
Charlo continued: “Perhaps I am the one to call and decide who I want to play next. “Fundora, let’s fight someone else. [Terence] Crawford you guys go and fight, I’m busy, damn it, I’m busy. ”
