Sebastian Fundora may prove to be a handful for Tim Tszyu, according to former two-weight world champion Tim Bradley.
Tszyu was scheduled to face Keith Thurman in a light-middleweight world title bout on March 30, but this week Thurman was forced to withdraw from the bout after suffering an injury in training. Enter Fundora, who was set to fight on the undercard of the event but will instead step into the main event against the Australian.
While the short notice will be a disadvantage for Fundora, Bradley believes it will also hinder Tszyu's preparations.
Instead of facing a 5-foot-7 opponent in Thurman, Tszyu must now defend his WBO title against a fighter in Fundora who is nearly a full foot taller.
“That is going to be difficult,” Bradley told ProBox TV of Tszyu’s new opponent.
“He is facing a southpaw, he’s been training for an orthodox fighter in a Keith Thurman and now he has to switch his camp and looking for sparring partners that size is going to be very difficult for him.
“This is a bigger challenge, a bigger threat in my opinion, compared to Keith Thurman."
The physical stature of Fundora notwithstanding, Bradley also believes the new fight will be a better spectacle overall. Bradley listed Thurman's age (35) and relative inactivity as factors going against the original fight, with 26-year-old Fundora providing a more pleasing style to go up against that of Tszyu's.
“This is going to be a fantastic fight," Bradley explained. "You’ve got two guys, big hearts, decent skill, both guys have got punching power, coming forwards, that’s what I’m talking about.
"I’m talking about an explosion here for the fans at home, and we get to see how well they deal with adversity and to change, that’s going to be on display when both these guys face each other.
"I’m excited about the news. Keith Thurman, get well my man, sorry you couldn’t fight, however I think this is a better matchup.”
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