The WBO has refused to sanction Joey Spencer as a potential challenger for WBC/WBO junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora to defend against in his next fight in March.
Spencer refused
It comes as no surprise that Spencer (19-1, 11 KOs) was not sanctioned by the WBO as a challenger to Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs) because he is not ranked in the top 15 by any of the four sanctioning bodies in 154. This leaves Fundora management needing to select one of the highly ranked contenders in the WBO rankings.
Options
1. Xander Zayas
2. Charles Conwell
3. Josh Kelly
4. Jorge Garcia Pérez
Fundora has not fought since he upset WBO middleweight champion Tim Tszyu on March 30, 2024. It wouldn't be ideal for “The Towering Inferno” Fundora to face Zayas or Conwell, who is coming off a lengthy one-year layoff.
The best option would be Josh Kelly. He's a lightweight boxer and a very simple fighter, more of a British fighter on the local level than a real contender. It would be easy for the 6'6″ Fundora to dominate him, hit him, and have a good time beating him up.
I can't believe Kelly is ranked in the top ten. How did this guy rank in the top three? It's a top 50 material, but it would be perfect for Fundora right now.
Fundora, 27, had been negotiating a defense against Errol Spence for March, but the World Boxing Organization refused to approve the fight this week. Their reasoning was that Spence was coming off a 1.5-year sabbatical, a knockout loss to Terence Crawford, who was not ranked in the WBO top 15, and had never fought in the weight class. Those were very good reasons.
Fundora paused
He should fight Fundora soon because he's been out of the ring for too long, and it's ruining his career. Yes, he's young enough for this type of release to not hurt him like it would an older fighter, but his popularity is suffering. He failed to capitalize on his win over Tszyu by returning to the ring shortly after.
“They told me that the WBO has refused to endorse Joey Spencer as a potential challenger to the current bantamweight champion, Sebastian Fundora, next March. This week, negotiations officially broke down to see Fundora vs. Errol Spence. #espnknockout,” Salvador Rodriguez said. X.
