Talks of a showdown between unified super-welterweight champion Sebastian Fundora and former unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. have been prevalent throughout 2024. However, after hitting a bump in the road last month, the potential WBO & WBC 154lb title affair has been given a fresh update.
Fundora pulled off a major upset when he defeated Tim Tsyzu via majority decision back in March to be crown as a unified super-welterweight champion and seemingly tee-up a clash between himself and arguable pound-for-pound number one, Terence Crawford.
Yet, despite Crawford being in possession of the WBO interim belt, ‘Bud’ gave Fundora his permission to fight in a voluntary defence of his belts, with Crawford’s fierce rival Errol Spence Jr. the man expected to land the opportunity.
Spence Jr. lost out to Crawford in his most recent contest back in July 2023 and is yet to fight in the super-welterweight division but an eventual rematch between the pair remains as one of the most lucrative proposals on the table for Crawford – regardless of the dominant fashion in which he dispatched of Spence the first time around.
Although, that plan seemingly came to an end when the WBO explained that any voluntary defence of their title must come against a contender who is ranked in the top ten, and understandably given his inactivity, Spence Jr. is not.
Nevertheless, the possible title bout could be back on track after the WBO’s convention in Puerto Rico yesterday, as TGB Promotions requested that Spence Jr. was installed as a top ten contender when the rankings are updated and supposedly received a ‘positive’ response, as per Everything Boxing.
https://www.twitter.com/EverythingBoxi2/status/1852068957752303730
“SPENCE ASKED TO BE RANKED FOR FUNDORA FIGHT
“TGB Promotions, on behalf of PBC, have asked for Errol Spence to be ranked in the top 10 of the WBO so that he can fight the WBO super welterweight champion Sebastian Fundora.”
The president said the request would be considered by the committee but he sounded very positive about it. I expect it will be approved and Fundora will be approved to fight Spence next
— EverythingBoxing (@EverythingBoxi2) October 31, 2024
“The president said the request would be considered by the committee but he sounded very positive about it. I expect it will be approved and Fundora will be approved to fight Spence next.”
Crawford appears to be targeting the goal of becoming the first three-weight undisputed champion of the four-belt era, requiring wins against fellow champions WBC and WBO title-holder Fundora (or possibly Spence Jr.) and IBF ruler Bakhram Murtazaliev.
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