Sebastián “The Towering Inferno” Fundora will look to strengthen his case as an up-and-coming junior middleweight contender when he takes on Jorge "El Demonio" Cota in pay-per-view action on Saturday, May 1st at Dignity Healthy Sports Park in Carson, California. “It definitely motivates me to have PBC put me on such a big card with all of these Mexican and Mexican-American match-ups and to be grouped with fighters of this caliber,” said Fundora. “I want to be looked at as part of the next generation of great Mexican-American fighters. Being in that class gives me a lot of pride, but I don’t necessarily feel any added pressure because of it. I just have to do my job on May 1st and the rest will come.”
Fundora and his father and trainer, Freddy Fundora, have been deep in training in their Coachella, California home as they near Fundora’s first fight of 2021. Fundora will look to build off of his 2020 campaign, which saw him score a unanimous decision victory over Daniel Lewis and stoppage wins over Nathaniel Gallimore and Habib Ahmed.
“This training camp is going great,” said Fundora. “Sparring has been really strong and I feel sharp. We’re covering all our bases so that we’re as ready as possible on May 1. I’m always training, so it’s really just a seamless transition from one camp to the next. We know we have to make sure that we do everything that we can to get this win.”
For the 23 year-old Fundora, his focus remains on each fight in front of him, instead of projecting about how his improvement may look fight-by-fight. “I really try to take everything one fight at a time,” said Fundora. “Everything depends on how this fight unfolds. As soon as the bell rings, we’ll see what adjustments we need to make, if any, and go from there.”
Despite his patient approach, Fundora still has his sights set on making a big statement in his own unique way on May 1st. “I’m not like the other fighters Cota has faced,” said Fundora. “I want to make my own statement in the ‘Towering Inferno’ way. I expect him to come 100% ready for me, but his past experience won’t help him. This is a totally different fight for him.”
Fundora will be able to measure himself against past Cota opponents that include unified champion Jermell Charlo, former unified champion Jeison Rosario and contender Erickson Lubin. This past experience makes Cota perhaps Fundora’s toughest test to date, a fact that will do nothing to deter Fundora’s confidence heading into this showdown.
“I always consider it a tough fight, but I understand why the perception is that this is my toughest fight yet,” said Fundora. “I have faced a lot of fighters like Cota who like to come forward and engage on the inside. Cota is certainly one of the bigger names I’ve faced, but this is nothing different for me stylistically.”
