Fundora Stops Hadribeaj at 2:59 of Round 12 — One Second Before the Final Bell — to Retain the WBC Super Welterweight Title
Las Vegas — WBC super welterweight (154-pound) champion Sebastian Fundora waited until the final second of the final round to finish his fourth title defense on Saturday night at The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, knocking out challenger Ermal Hadribeaj with a left hand at 2:59 of Round 12 — one second before the final bell.
Fundora improved to 25-1-1 with 17 knockouts and has won five straight since his only career loss, to Brian Mendoza in April 2023. Hadribeaj suffered the first defeat of his professional career, falling to 23-1-1 with eight knockouts, as his bid to become Albania's first boxing world champion ended in defeat. The challenger was docked a point for holding by referee Thomas Taylor in both the third and 11th rounds. CompuBox credited Fundora with 202 landed punches to Hadribeaj's 144, including 56 body shots.
"It was dramatic to knock him out at the last second," Fundora said. "But we'll go back to the gym and fix some things." He said he had to fight on the inside again and show everyone he can still do that, adding: "I want to go for undisputed in this division."
Fundora captured the WBC and WBO titles against Tim Tszyu in March 2024 and has since defended them against Chordale Booker, Tszyu again and former welterweight champion Keith Thurman. On the undercard, Armando Resendiz beat Koen Mazoudier by unanimous decision (98-92, 97-93, 97-93), Jaime Osuna beat Cristian Cangelosi by majority decision, and Marco Romero stopped Braulio Ferreira by TKO at 1:54 of Round 1.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：赛事场馆所在地拉斯维加斯大都会酒店（The Cosmopolitan）夜景资料图。照片：EconomicOldenburger，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0。File photo: The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, the venue resort, at night. Photo by EconomicOldenburger, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
