Sebastian Fundora vs Chordale Booker WBC special fight preview

Reach for the sky! By James Blears

In fighting Sebastian Fundora , each and every opponent is gazing up at a tall order, while coming to terms with an uphill battle.

To 'Summit' up, there's never been a world super-welterweight champion, who stands six feet five and a half inches tall and throws punches from behind an eighty inches reach. And to make matters worse, the lad is a southpaw!

Trained by his dad, Freddy, Sebastian confided that at 27-years-old, he can still comfortably squeeze into the super-welter limit. Perhaps one day he'll move up to middleweight, but he and Mother Nature are in no great hurry right now.

His Hall of Fame promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz , always has a keen eye for emerging talent and a shrewd way of both nurturing and developing it. Years ago, when he was singing Sebastian's praises, few were listening back then and even fewer put pen to paper.

In years gone by Tommy Hearns fought like a whirlwind on seemingly spindly legs and with reedy, pipe stem arms, but oh boy could he punch, especially with his right hand. His skills and awesome power were carefully and expertly honed and developed from an early age, starting in the amateurs, by the legendary Emanuel Steward, who Tommy considered a father to him.

Manny, who was a brilliant strategist, well knew his own job description. He put it thus: "Every fighter has a style and a strategy and it's my job as a trainer, to analyse and exploit weaknesses."

In spite of his structural physical advantages, there's nothing that Sebastian likes better than a toe-to-toe tear-up, where he can throw, inflict and land his potent left uppercut and impose his will. Yet a momentary lapse of concentration cost him dear against Brian 'Bulldozer' Mendoza, who caught him napping in round seven and made him pay for it dearly, with a cascade of punches, which put him down, dizzy and unable to beat the count.

Sebastian had been comfortably winning the fight, until he got too uncomfortably close in the wrong angle and paid the price for it via a huge left hook from around the side.

He lost his WBC Interim Title and it took more than a year for him to regroup and then return to defeat Aussie superstar Tim Tszyu in a split decision bloodbath, where 'The soul Taker' was horrendously gashed and Sebastian was also pouring blood from a broken nose. On this occasion, Fundora used his reach more intelligently and stuck to the gameplan to keep the fight long and sensible.

After this, a big and deserved pay day was in the offing against former world champion Errol Spence Jr, which unfortunately fell through. Fundora is smart and philosophical beyond his years, so he brushed it off, despite the disappointment.

So now the fight will be on Saturday March 22nd against 33-year-old Chordale Booker at the Michelob Ultra Arena, Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. It's Fundora's first defence of his WBC and WBO titles.

While Fundora is six feet five and a half inches tall with an 80-inches reach, it must be noted that Chordale stands five feet nine on tip toes, with a reach of 10-inches less. This isn't necessarily an insurmountable obstacle. At six feet six and a half inches tall with and 83-inches reach, Jess Willard was almost destroyed by the much smaller and slimmer Jack Dempsey.

There was never a better way to gauge the resolve of Fundora than the Erickson Lubin fight when he won the WBC Interim Belt. It was a give and take battle of sheer willpower. Erickson knocked Sebastian down hard in round seven. But then he got up, dug deep and fought back with measured ferocity plus venom, to batter the tiring Erickson, whose corner retired him after a torrid, bludgeoning round nine. Fundora's response had been lion-hearted. This is what champions are made of!

Fundora trains side by side with his sister Gabriela, who is the undisputed flyweight champion, with a record of 15-0, 1No Contest, 7 KOs. Gabriela, who is five years younger than her big brother, stands five feet nine inches tall and has a sixty-nine inches reach. Brother and Sister motivate each other and Dad is in charge.

Connecticut's Chordale is also a southpaw and has built a record of 22-1, 10 KOs. His only defeat, and it was a painful one, was at the hands of another southpaw, heavy hitting Austin 'Ammo' Williams, who hails from Houston, Texas.

Caught napping against the ropes in round one, Chordale was clobbered by a series of left hooks to the head. He wilted, then slumped and Referee Charlie Fitch rightly stepped in to save him. That was for the WBA Continental of the Americas middleweight title.

Chordalem who excelled as an amateur and has a decent record as a pro, trains in Stamford, which is famed for its university of smart students. Briefly in trouble as a youngster, Chordale has been giving back to his community. He coaches boxing and he started the Go the Distance Foundation at the Trailblazers Academy saying, "I want to break down barriers between at-risk youth and the Police. An atmosphere where we can create a dialogue and conversation with both points of view."

Fundora's nickname is 'The Towering Inferno'. Chordale's is 'The Gift'. Booker wasn't expecting this fight, which has come as a real boon, but he's determined to take full advantage of the opportunity on offer.

Boom or bust? Unless Fundora temptingly ventures into close proximity, Booker might find it difficult to reach him. Going to the body, which doesn't move as much as a bobbing head, might by a useful ploy, if he can reach.

Booker, who has been sparring with some lanky, elongated fighters said, "I'm going in there to be smart, taking it round by round, trying to figure him out, while giving one hundred percent."

Both Booker and Fundora have already learned first-hand that, at this level, lapses in concentration are ruthlessly, efficiently, instantly and invariably castigated.

As Emanuel Steward also observed: "To be a fighter, you have to have the heart of a lion and the mind of a chess player."

Check it out mate!