Brian Mendoza Shocked The System With Devastating Knockout (Video)
Brian Mendoza scored in what is an early runner up for knockout of the year as he defeated Sebastian Fundora for the interim WBC super welterweight title.
Last night, when fans tuned in or attended the Showtime card headlined by Sebastian Fundora (20-1-1) vs. Brian Mendoza (22-2), it felt like a matchup that would see ‘The Towering Inferno’ continue to prove that he is a young dominant contender. Everyone didn’t expect that Mendoza would play “David” and slay Goliath (Fundora) on his way to an upset victory and a knockout of the year candidate.
Fundora was doing what he does best, dominating the fight early with his volume punching and using his size as much as possible. The one knock on Fundora has always been that he tends to lean down too much, which takes away the one advantage he will always have: his height. This got him in trouble with Erickson Lubin, but Fundora was able to work his way back and stop him. This time, Fundora would not have such luck.
He was getting hit in spots, but nothing that would put him in danger until it did. In the seventh round, Mendoza hit Fundora with a Mike Tyson-like left hook, and it froze ‘The Towering Inferno’ for a second. While knocked out on his feet, Mendoza hit Fundora with a right hook and then a left one which sent him crashing down to the canvas. Fundora had no plans of getting up, and it seemed like he communicated that to the referee as he wasn’t in any shape to get up and knew if he did, it would end badly for him.
OH MY GOD 😳@LaBalaMendoza knockouts Fundora with some CLEAN power shots 💪#FundoraMendoza pic.twitter.com/SjbddGKZgr
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) April 9, 2023
Fundora had two losses on his record, but one was against a future champion in Jesus Ramos Jr., so there is no shame in that. Mendoza was very emotional after the fight and pointed out that having those losses doesn’t make you unable to win another big fight. “I started losing a couple rounds, but I didn’t care, you’ll never see me give up. I would’ve given up years ago when I took some losses. I kept on sparring and look at me now. A year ago, I was a swing bout after the main event, nobody cared who I was or what I was doing; this is proof. You keep working; you’re going to make it baby!”
Mendoza continued, “I never quit. I keep going. You can beat me all you want, but if you don’t kill me, I’m coming back. They didn’t kill me in my career, and it’s too late now; I’m getting better each time. I want to thank Fundora for taking this fight. He didn’t need to take it. It was really risky for where he was at. Thank you for the opportunity, and we did it!”
Photo Credit: Esther Lin/Showtime
On a night when things seemed to be heading toward the status quo, Mendoza disrupted the system and earned himself a knockout victory that will undoubtedly make its rounds through social media. Mendoza certainly earned for fans to put some respect on his name, and soon that hard work will pay off in more significant opportunities and larger purses.
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