Sebastian Fundora Retains WBC Title With Last-Second Knockout of Ermal Hadribeaj

Sebastian Fundora improved to 25-1 with a knockout victory over Ermal Hadribeaj at the 2:59 mark of the final round.

Sebastian Fundora (25-1, 17 KOs) retained his WBC junior middleweight title on Saturday by knocking out Ermal Hadribeaj at the 2:59 mark of the 12th round. Fighting at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Fundora floor the challenger with a left hand in the closing moments of the bout, prompting referee Thomas Taylor to stop the contest. The Coachella, California native was leading on the scorecards at the time of the stoppage.

Hadribeaj (23-1-1, 8 KOs) suffered his first professional defeat despite hurting the 6-foot-5 champion in the second round. The 33-year-old Albanian challenger faced point deductions for holding in both the third and 11th rounds. While Hadribeaj attempted to fight on the inside, he showed signs of fatigue by the eighth round as Fundora utilized left uppercuts and body combinations to maintain control.

This victory marks Fundora's fifth consecutive win since his April 2023 loss to Brian Mendoza. The champion indicated a desire to pursue an undisputed title following this fourth defense. The result potentially positions Fundora for a 2027 unification bout against the winner of the expected match between WBA/WBO champion Jaron "Boots" Ennis and IBF champion Josh Kelly.