The extra time afforded to Top Rank and Sampson Boxing still wasn’t enough to get one key title fight over the line.
A WBO-ordered Sebastian Fundora-Xander Zayas title fight will now head to a purse bid hearing, the sanctioning body announced Saturday. The development came after the two sides failed to overcome one key insurmountable hurdle, even with a two-week extension applied to the original April 12 deadline.
The purse bid session will be held next week and streamed live, in line with WBO president Gustavo Olivieri’s quest for total transparency.
“Be advised that having the parties unable to reach terms as ordered, the WBO will order purse proceedings,” Olivieri confirmed on social media. “$200k minimum bid with 75% for Champion & 25% for Challenger. Proceedings to be conducted next week & streamed live. #NewEra”
Fundora, 22-1-1 (14 KOs), is the reigning, unified WBC and WBO junior middleweight titlist. The 6ft 5 ½ ins southpaw successfully defended both belts in a fourth-round knockout of Chordale Booker atop a March 22 PBC on Prime Video show from Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Zayas, 21-0 (13 KOs), was ringside for the occasion and joined Fundora in the ring, knowing he was going to be next in line. The WBO confirmed Zayas’ place as the mandatory challenger one day later.
The same ruling also derecognized four-division titlist Terence “Bud” Crawford as its interim beltholder as the pound-for-pound great is poised to challenge undisputed super middleweight king Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, 62-2-2 (39 KOs) later this year.
Sampson Boxing is the lead promoter for Fundora, while Zayas is with Top Rank. The two sides were committed to make a deal, as was the case in the recently confirmed Keyshawn Davis-Edwin De Los Santos WBO lightweight title fight. The fight will take place on June 7 in Davis’ hometown of Norfolk, Virginia.
The weekend was traditionally reserved in past years by Top Rank to host a show on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City.
Zayas, a 22-year-old Boricua now based in South Florida, headlined last year’s edition and hoped to do the same this June. However, the timing of the negotiation period – in addition to the lack of progress – made it impossible to commit this fight to the date.
While both sides were amicable throughout negotiations, compensation remained a key sticking point. Location was another hot topic, though not as much of a dealbreaker. Zayas has developed a fan base in Boricua-friendly New York City as well as in Central and South Florida, the latter his home region for the past ten years.
Fundora has headlined in Las Vegas for each of his past two starts. A full 51 weeks prior to his knockout win over Booker, Fundora dethroned then-unbeaten WBO titlist Tim Tszyu (24-0 at the time) and also picked up the vacant WBC 154 junior middleweight title last March 31 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The extended ring absence was largely due to stalled and eventually canceled plans for a title defense against former unified welterweight titlist Errol Spence, 29-1 (22 KOs).
Zayas will enter his first major title fight.
He solidified his place atop the WBO rankings with a ninth-round knockout of unbeaten Slawa Spomer on February 14 at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York City. The fight was his third straight at the intimate venue and seventh overall on MSG property.
