Junior middleweight Chordale Booker knows Sebastian Fundora is a unique opponent.
The two will fight for Fundora’s WBO and WBC junior middleweight unified titles at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas on March 22.
Booker, 33, is listed at 5ft 9in, around the height of most junior middleweights. Fundora, whose moniker is, “The Towering Inferno,” stands 6ft 6in – the tallest of any junior middleweight ever.
“He has something that we’ve never seen before in boxing,” Booker told BoxingScene of Fundora, 21-1-1 (13 KOs). “I’m not discrediting him, because I don’t know what it’s like to be that height. No one who isn’t that height does.”
Still, Booker, 23-1 (12 KOs), said he’s approaching the Fundora showdown like any other fight.
“I’m going to go in there and be smart,” Booker said. “Every fight is not the same. He’s not going to do the same thing in every fight. You can’t change up too much, either. But I’m going to take it round by round and try to figure him.”
Fundora, a 27-year-old from Coachella, California, is coming off a split decision victory over Tim Tszyu last March – Fundora’s only fight in 2024, which saw him bounce back from his lone career defeat, a knockout loss to Brian Mendoza.
Given his size and appearance, Fundora turns heads. Combined with the belts, his stature makes him one of the more recognizable fighters in boxing – and an opponent who can help Booker make his own name.
“It’s the biggest fight of my life,” Booker said. “It’s the most important fight that I’ve had to this point. I’m just working harder. I’m doing everything more, spending more time on my nutrition, focusing on my weight – just giving 110 per cent to winning this fight. I can’t really say that about any other fight. This time I am giving 100 per cent.”
Booker fits work as a fitness trainer in around his fighting – or perhaps the other way around. A win over Fundora would be more than just another notch in the left-hand column. It could be a life-altering step.
“A win for me changes my life drastically,” Booker said. “I win, I become a world champion.”
Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @LukieBoxing.
