Erickson Lubin and Sebastian Fundora have a date for their WBC super welterweight elimination match.
krikya360.com has learned that Lubin-Fundora will headline a “Showtime Championship Boxing” telecast April 9. The venue for the card that’ll showcase those two southpaws hadn’t been determined as of Thursday afternoon.
Lubin, 26, and Fundora, 24, will fight to become the WBC’s mandatory challenger for the winner of a March 19 bout between IBF/WBA/WBC 154-pound champ Jermell Charlo and WBO champ Brian Castano. Showtime also will air the Charlo-Castano rematch March 19 from Crypto.com Arena.
Lubin (24-1, 17 KOs), of Orlando, Florida, has won six straight fights since Charlo knocked him out with one punch in the first round of their October 2017 bout at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The left-handed Lubin, then just 21, was the mandatory challenger for Charlo’s championship that night.
In his most recent action, Lubin knocked out former IBF/IBO/WBA champ Jeison Rosario (21-3-1, 15 KOs) in the sixth round June 26 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
The 6-feet-6 Fundora is undefeated (18-0-1, 12 KOs), but the Coachella, California, native hasn’t faced someone as good as Lubin in his five years as a pro. Fundora, also a southpaw, most recently out-pointed Spain’s Sergio Garcia (33-1, 14 KOs) unanimously in a 12-round elimination match on the Gervonta Davis-Isaac Cruz undercard December 5 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Showtime’s telecast April 9 could include rising undefeated welterweight contender Jaron Ennis as well. The IBF has order a 12-round, 147-pound elimination match between Philadelphia’s Ennis (28-0, 26 KOs, 1 NC), who is ranked third by the IBF, and fifth-rated Custio Clayton (19-0-1, 12 KOs), of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
The IBF hasn’t set a date, however, by which their representatives must come to an agreement before their eliminator would go to a purse bid. If the two sides come to an agreement and Ennis and his promoter, Cameron Dunkin, move forward with Showtime as its broadcast partner, an Ennis-Clayton contest could be part of a tripleheader April 9.
Ennis, 24, is one of the few fighters who appears regularly on Showtime that isn’t affiliated with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions. The premium cable network has televised each of Ennis’ past nine fights.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
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