LAS VEGAS – Each Premier Boxing Champions fight week, it’s a good idea to wrangle lead promoter Tom Brown for his thoughts on the card, the sport and what’s next.

Following Thursday’s news conference advancing Saturday night’s Prime Video main event at Mandalay Bay pitting new unified junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora in his first defense versus No. 5-rated WBO contender Chordale Booker, Brown spent a few minutes with BoxingScene.

Knowing the true-life tale of how Booker skirted a lengthy prison sentence thanks to a superior court judge in Connecticut who doubled as an amateur boxing judge and opted to sentence Booker to three years on parole instead of a decade-plus behind bars, Brown said, “Can you imagine the Hollywood ending if Booker wins, throws those two belts in his bag and heads back to Connecticut?”

Brown was also moved by the story Fundora’s father-trainer, Freddy Fundora, told of keeping Sebastian and his undisputed world-champion sister, Gabriela, busy training year-round in the mountains above the Coachella Valley in Southern California.

“I love the story … that’s so serious. And look, [Sebastian’s] coming off that epic blood bath [last March over Tim Tszyu]. The kid is just really special, a pleasure to work with,” Brown said.

Increasing Fundora’s activity following the year out of the ring is a priority. 

“Of course. He had the wrecked nose [in the Tszyu fight], the stuff with the WBO [demanding he fight the right opponent to keep the belt],” Brown said.

“Plus, he’s got the kid right next to him, [co-main event fighter] Jesus Ramos Jnr, who’s one of the most promising fighters in the division today. Now that Sebastian has these belts, they’re coming to him. A lot of things can happen.”

Brown said he’s already fielded a call from IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev’s promoter, Kathy Duva, about both making a three-belt unification bout and positioning Ramos for a future title shot. 

“I told her to call me back. Everything’s on the table,” Brown said.

Ramos told BoxingScene Wednesday the fight he wants most is against former undisputed 154lbs champion Jermell Charlo, 35-2-1 (19 KOs), who relinquished his belts and has been away from the sport following his wide September 2023 loss to Canelo Alvarez.

Brown said Charlo will “absolutely” return to the ring “by late summer.”

“He’s in the gym, training hard. He’s told us he’s ready to go,” Brown said.

Versus Ramos?

“Everything’s on the table,” Brown repeated to BoxingScene. “Like I told Kathy, call me Monday.”

Brown also likes the idea of staging a Phoenix area card with Saturday Arizona fighters Ramos Jnr, 21-year-old middleweight Elijah Garcia, and Ramos’ uncle, Abel Ramos, who fought WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios Jnr to a draw in November.

Brown said Garcia, a husband, parent and homeowner at age 21, deserves for PBC and fight fans “to cut him some slack” following his disappointing split-decision loss to Kyrone Davis in June that cost him his No. 1 WBA ranking and forced a trainer and training-camp change to Bob Santos in Las Vegas.

Garcia, 16-1 (13 KOs), confronts 37-year-old, two-time former title challenger Terrell Gausha, 24-4-1 (12 KOs).

“I think of where I was at 21. Could you imagine how we’d be doing all that at 21, plus fighting?” Brown said. “So we wash that one away.

“Still, let me tell you, this is no easy fight. Terrell has a lot of experience. We wanted to give him exactly the type of fight he just had with Kyrone.

“[Garcia] can right the ship, and then we can end up making the Kyrone fight again. The kid’s 21, he’s going to be moving back up the rankings. I’m very proud of him.”

Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.