With Unification Talk Abound, Fundora Defends Against Hadribeaj on Saturday
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – Before setting his sights back on some of the marquee names at 154 pounds, WBC ruler Sebastian Fundora must first take care of his mandatory business against undefeated challenger Ermal Hadribeaj on Saturday night in the TNT and DAZN-broadcast main event from the Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Fighters for the six-bout card took part in the ceremonial weigh-in on Friday afternoon at the Castellana Commons, just outside the fight venue, having officially weighed-in earlier in the day.
Fundora (24-1-1, 16 KOs) of Coachella, California is back in Las Vegas for the fifth consecutive time, having punished former champion Keith Thurman en route to a sixth-round stoppage at the MGM Grand this past March. Though Hadribeaj is an inch or two taller than Thurman, the 6’5 ½” Fundora will again have the decided height advantage on Saturday. Though Fundora will enter the bout as the heavy favorite, he has insisted he is not looking past his opponent on Saturday.
“We have Ermal in front of us,” said Fundora when asked if he has eventual unification with Jaron Ennis or Josh Kelly on his mind during Thursday’s press conference. “I’m not overlooking him. Of course, he is the number one mandatory for the WBC. We cannot overlook anybody. He’s an undefeated fighter, so we are ready to go with this one and after Saturday, you can ask me all the questions.”
Mostly under the radar, Hadribeaj (23-0-1, 8 KOs) of Miami Beach, Florida by way of Tirana, Albania has worked his way into this position by gathering WBC-affiliated regional titles over the last five years before claiming the WBC #1 ranking and mandatory challenger status back in May with a twelve-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Frenchman Bakary Samake in Germany.
“The Towering Inferno” Fundora again somehow comfortably made the junior middleweight limit on Friday, coming in at 152.8 pounds on Friday, while the challenger Hadribeaj scaled 152.4 for the twelve-round main event.

In the twelve-round co-main event, Brandon Figueroa (27-2-1, 20 KOs) of Weslaco, Texas was scheduled to defend the WBA featherweight title against former bantamweight titleholder Tomoki Kameda (42-5, 23 KOs) of Osaka, Osaka, Japan. However, Figueroa came in over the 126-pound featherweight limit, so now the vacant title will be on the line for Kameda only.
Figueroa claimed the title back in February as he entered enemy territory and scored a thrilling twelfth-round knockout of champion Nick Ball in Liverpool, England to become a two-division champion. On his first attempt on Friday morning, Figueroa weighed-in at 127.4 pounds. Given an hour to lose the additional 1.4 pounds, Figueroa was unable to meet the requirement, officially scaling 126.8 pounds, and thus was stripped of his title by the WBA.
Kameda, the WBA #3 ranked featherweight, on the other hand did make the weight and will attempt to accomplish a feat only Stephen Fulton Jr. has been able to accomplish and that is defeat Figueroa. Kameda, the youngest and only still active of a trio of brothers, alongside Koki and Daiki Kameda, to hold major world titles, came up just short of becoming a two-division champion in his last outing, a twelve-round majority decision defeat to IBF featherweight kingpin Angelo Leo in May of last year.
Figueroa, the now former champion, did not show for the ceremonial weigh-in on Friday afternoon, something the challenger did not appreciate. Despite his layoff of over a year, Kameda sounds ready and up to the task at hand.
“Honestly, it is disrespectful, because I am here and I suffered too,” said Kameda in Spanish through translator Martin Bater after posing for the media on Friday afternoon. “I did my thing and I am ready for tomorrow. It has been eighteen months since I fought, but look at me…I am shredded, so you know that I am ready.”

Former WBA super middleweight champion Armando Resendiz (16-3, 11 KOs) of South Gate, California by way of Guayabitos, Nayarit, Mexico will take on Koen Mazoudier (16-4-1, 6 KOs) of Umina, New South Wales, Australia in a ten-round super middleweight attraction.
Resendiz, the WBA #4/WBO #5/WBC #12 ranked super middleweight, stepped-in on less than two weeks notice to replace Jermall Charlo in the bout. Most notably, Resendiz scored an upset twelve-round split decision over Caleb Plant in May of last year to claim the interim version of the WBA 168-pound title. Resendiz was elevated to full champion following the retirement of Terence Crawford and dropped the title to Jaime Munguia, in a mostly one-sided twelve round decision defeat this past May. Resendiz, who weighed 167 pounds on Friday, jumped at the opportunity to get back on the winning track when the offer came-in to compete this weekend.
Mazoudier spent his summer and spring preparing to meet troubled former champion Charlo, only to have the bout canceled twice. The first scheduled meeting was supposed to take place in July in Mazoudier’s native Australia, only to be scuttled when Charlo’s visa was denied. Premier Boxing Champions attempted to do right by Mazoudier by rescheduling the bout for this coming Saturday, only to have a Charlo injury cancel the bout again. Mazoudier, who usually campaigns at 154-pounds, weighed-in at 166.8 pounds on Friday morning.

Opening the TNT telecast, Marco Romero (15-0, 13 KOs) of Olathe, Kansas will take on Braulio Matias Ferreira (8-3, 3 KOs) of Rosario, Uruguay in an eight-round super middleweight contest. Competing for the fifth time this calendar year, Romero will aim to inch closer to contention in front of a national television audience as he takes on Ferreira, who stepped in on short notice to replace veteran DeAndre Ware. Romero scaled-in at 162.4 pounds on Friday, while Ferreira came in at 162.8.
Making his U.S. debut, Jaime Osuna (11-0, 5 KOs) of Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico will take on Cristian Cangelosi (13-0-1, 5 KOs) of Brooklyn, New York by way of Palermo, Sicilia, Italy in a eight-round pairing of unbeaten middleweights. Osuna Diaz, promoted by Sampson Boxing, weighed-in at 161.2 pounds on Friday. Cangelosi, who has fought mostly as a junior middleweight, scaled 160.8 pounds.
In the opener, David Garcia (7-0, 5 KOs) of Las Vegas will meet Angel Carrillo (5-0-1, 2 KOs) of Oxnard, California in a six-round pairing of undefeated featherweights. Garcia, who only turned 17 years of age this past May, will be competing for the fourth time this year. The 21-year-old Carrillo has been out of action since August of last year. Garcia came in at 127.8, while Carrillo made 126.8 pounds.
Quick Weigh-in Results
WBC Light Middleweight Championship, 12 Rounds
Fundora 152.8
Hadribeaj 152.4
WBA Featherweight Championship, 12 Rounds
Figueroa 126.8*
Kameda 125.8
Super middleweights, 10 Rounds
Resendiz 167
Mazdoudier 166.8
Super middleweights, 8 Rounds
Romero 164.2
Ferreira 162.8
Middleweights, 8 Rounds
Osuna 161.2
Cangelosi 160.8
Featherweights, 6 Rounds
Garcia 127.8
Carrillo 126.8
*Figueroa .8 pounds over limit, title on the line for Kameda only
Tickets for the Premier Boxing Champions event, promoted by TGB Promotions and Sampson Boxing, are available online at Ticketmaster.com
Photos by Cris Esqueda/Premier Boxing Champions
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com
