The WBO has refused to sanction Joey Spencer as a potential challenger for WBC/WBO junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora to defend in his next fight in March.
Spencer was rejected
It’s no shock that Spencer (19-1, 11 KOs) is not sanctioned by the World Boxing Organization as Fundora’s (21-1-1, 13 KOs) opponent because he is not ranked in the top 15 by any of the four sanctioning bodies at 154 .That leaves Fundora’s management to pick one of the top contenders in the WBO rankings.
Options
1. Xander Zayas
2. Charles Conwell
3. Josh Kelly
4. Jorge Garcia Perez
Fundora hasn’t fought since upsetting WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu on March 30, 2024. It wouldn’t be ideal for “The Towering Inferno” Fundora to face Zayas or Conwell, who is on a one-year layoff .
A better choice would be Josh Kelly. He’s a light puncher and a fairly basic fighter – more of a British domestic level fighter than a real contender. It would be an easy task for the 6’6″ Fundora to dominate, defeat and have fun beating him.
I can’t believe Kelly is in the top 10. How the hell is this guy in the top 3? He’s more top-50 material, but he’d be perfect for Fundora right now.
Fundora, 27, was in talks to defend Errol Spence in March but the World Boxing Organization refused to sanction the bout this week. Their rationale was that Spence was coming off a 1.5 year layoff, a knockout loss to Terence Crawford, who was not ranked in the WBO’s top 15 and had never fought in the weight class. Those were very good reasons.
Fundora stopped
Fundora needs to fight soon because he has been out of the ring for too long and is ruining his career. Yes, he’s young enough for these types of layoffs to not hurt him like an older fighter would, but his popularity is suffering. He failed to capitalize on his victory over Tszyu by returning to the ring immediately afterward.
“I’m told the WBO has declined to endorse Joey Spencer as a potential challenger to current Super Welterweight champion Sebastián Fundora for next March. This week, negotiations to see Fundora vs. Errol Spence officially fell through. #espnknockout,” said Salvador Rodriguez X.
