One judge scored the fight 116-112 for Tszyu, but was overruled by scores of 116-112 and 115-113 for Fundora.
"We've been praying for this moment for a long time and I'm just happy that Tim Tszyu gave me the opportunity and the opportunity became my dream come true,” said Fundora.”
Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) looked in control in the first two rounds, almost landing straight right hands at will before running into an incidental elbow from Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs) in round two that opened a massive cut on the top of his head. After receiving an inspection from the ringside physician, Tszyu fought on, but was clearly affected by the blood caused from the cut.
"I'm a throwback fighter and whatever circumstances come up, I'll keep going,” said Tszyu. “But all credit belongs to the man who won tonight. These things happen. My momentum was rolling in the first two rounds and then boom, you're blinded completely. This is boxing, it's part of the sport.”
With his opponent’s vision compromised, Fundora, who was dealing with blood flowing out of his nose following round two, focused on using his tremendous length to consistently pepper Tszyu with jabs and further disrupt his attack. Most of Fundora’s success with power punches came via the left hand, as he was able to land clean shots from the southpaw stance.
"I didn't want to break my nose today, but this is my life and this is boxing,” said Fundora. “I just had to be smart. I used my brain. I hope you saw me use my boxing skills tonight.”
According to CompuBox stats, Fundora out-jabbed Tszyu 93-39 and threw 721 punches to Tszyu’s 400. Tszyu held an impressive 44% connect rate, but despite a 136 to 101 edge in power punches, was never able to seriously hurt Fundora.
"I show up no matter what and always bring the fight,” said Tszyu. “There's no excuses. I'll fight whoever, whenever. If you want a good scrap, you know who to call."
"Tszyu is a world champion for a reason,” said Fundora. “It's an honor to share the ring and make history with him.”
Fundora became the second world champion in his family, following his sister Gabriela, the current IBF Flyweight World Champion, with both trained by their father Freddy. After the fight, top pound-for-pound contender and former unified world champion Errol Spence Jr. entered the ring to express his interest in a matchup with Fundora, which the newly crowned champion quickly welcomed.
"Errol is one of the pound for pound greats,” said Fundora. “So fighting him and getting a win would be history for me."
"It's time to get it on,” said Spence. “He's got the big dog now. It's my first time seeing him in person. He's got good height, but we'll break him down.”
Esther Lin/Premier Boxing Champions