By: Sean Crose
WBC interim junior middleweight titlist Sebastian Fundora battled Carlos Ocampo Saturday night in the main event of a Showtime card broadcast live from the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. First however, was a battle for the IBF bantamweight belt between the 14-0 defending titlist Fernando Martinez and the 33-2-2 Jerwin Ancajas. The fight, which was a rematch of Martinez’ previous victory over Ancajas, was a high octane, entertaining affair. The bout, however, ultimately ended as the first had, with Martinez emerging the victor via unanimous decision.
Next up, the 23-5-2 Juan Macias-Montel took on the 21-1 Carlos Adames in a scheduled 12 round middleweight match. The first round saw each fighter try to position himself for a strong shot. Adames began to fire and land well in the second. By round’s end the man was tossing off hard body shots. Both men traded heavy leather in an exciting third round. By the last minute of the chapter, however, it was Adames alone who was firing off the thunderous blows. After stumbling onto the ropes, Montel was soon saved from further punishment by the referee.
It was time for the main event.
Immediately after the bell rang to open the bout it was clear the 19-0-1 Fundora towered over the 34-1 Ocampo. Indeed, the 6’6 Fundura tried to assert that height advantage through the use of his southpaw jab. The defending titlist continued to employ his jab in the second, though Ocampo had his moments. The challenger continued to gamely try to get in on his man in the third. The fight suddenly turned into a slugfest in the fourth, as the fighters got in close and traded leather.
The fifth was nothing short of a war, with both men fighting ferociously in a figurative phonebook. Needless to say Fundura was no longer maintaining range with his jab. Things slowed down in the sixth, but the fighters still spent the majority of their time fighting in close. Ocampo looked gassed in the seventh while Fundura was finally able to assert himself.
Ocampo continued to swing away at Fundura, but it was clear his punches no longer had the required snap to them. Still, by round’s end Fundura looked to be running out of gas himself. Fundura relied on his size to lean on Campo in the ninth. The gutsy Ocampo continued to attach his man throughout the tenth. If he couldn’t ultimately earn the win, he certainly couldn’t be faulted for not trying.
In the eleventh, Fundura once again tried to maintain range through footwork and employment of his very long jab. Fundura began effectively using his jab to carry him through the twelfth and final round as much as possible, though at times he couldn’t help but try to slug it out with his man. Needless to say, it was Fundura who was able to leave the ring victorious thanks to the judge’s scores of 119-109, 117-11, and 118-110.