Still no date. Sebastian Fundora\u2019s left hand hasn\u2019t healed, and the WBC belt\u2019s sitting idle. October 25 was meant to be the defense against Keith Thurman \u2014 decent name, decent risk \u2014 but a hand contusion in camp blew that up. Now they\u2019re whispering about late January in Vegas. Maybe the 24th, maybe the 31st. Depends on whether the doctor says yes. Depends on whether Fundora can actually jab without wincing.<\/p>\n
He hasn\u2019t fought since July, when he beat\u00a0 Tim Tszyu in seven. That looked like the start of something \u2014 range, discipline, spite in the right places. But it\u2019s December, and all the momentum\u2019s gone cold. Fundora\u2019s team will say it\u2019s fine, \u201cjust a small setback.\u201d That\u2019s what they all say before a six-month wait starts looking like a lost year.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Thurman\u2019s Rust Is Worse Than Any Injury<\/p>\n
Thurman? Thirty-seven now. Last seen in against Jarvis \u2014 a safe selection, a name to remind everyone he still exists. That fight told nothing. Legs slower, output drip-fed. He used to bounce in and out like a yo-yo, now he\u2019s doing short laps around the ring hoping for one clean overhand. Ring rust doesn\u2019t cure itself. And this kind of matchup \u2014 sharp, rangy counterpuncher versus part-time fighter \u2014 usually ends with the old guy smothered by tempo.<\/p>\n
Fans see it too. Half of them calling it charity matchmaking. Others asking why Vergil Ortiz Jr. or Bakhram Muratazaliev get frozen out while Thurman, who\u2019s done nothing lately, waltzes into a title fight. The belt deserves better; Fundora probably does too. But business keeps its own logic.<\/p>\n
Until the hand clears and the network signs on, the fight\u2019s just smoke. No medical all-clear, no date, no certainty. Fundora waits. Thurman rehearses interviews. Everyone else moves on.<\/p>\n
Thomas Hull is a boxing writer covering news, gossip and results\u00a0 since 2014.<\/p>\n
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