Fundora, Derevyanchenko among those on Gervonta Davis-Isaac Cruz PPV undercard
Junior middleweight contender Sebastian “The Towering Inferno” Fundora will meet Sergio Garcia in WBC title eliminator in the co-feature of the Gervonta Davis-Isaac Cruz fight on Dec. 5 (Showtime PPV, 8 p.m. ET) at Staples Center in Los Angeles, Premier Boxing Champions and Showtime announced on Wednesday.
Fundora (17-0-1, 12 KOs), 23, a southpaw from Coachella, California, has scored four knockouts in a row and is coming off an impressive fourth-round stoppage of Jorge Cota in May on the Andy Ruiz-Chris Arreola undercard.
“I haven't stopped training since my fight against Cota and I'm always prepared for every opportunity that arises,” Fundora said. “I don't know much about Garcia, but my promoter (Sampson Lewkowicz) has told me for the past two years that he's from Spain and he's ranked No. 2 in the WBC. So it only makes sense for me, being the No. 4-ranked fighter in the WBC, that we face each other.”
Garcia (33-0, 14 KOs), 29, of Spain, is the former European junior middleweight champion. He will be boxing outside of Spain for the second time, the other coming in England in 2019.
“I want to thank my team for giving me this opportunity to show my boxing skills to the U.S. audience,” Garcia said. “I’m very excited to make the most of this chance that I have. After winning four European championships and other important titles, I feel that I’m ready to win a world title. I am only focused on Sebastian Fundora, but after this fight I want (junior middleweight titleholders) Jermell Charlo or Brian Castano.”
The two other bouts on the PPV, both 10-rounders, were also announced.
Former three-time middleweight title challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko (13-3, 10 KOs), 36, a Brooklyn, New York-based Ukrainian, will face Carlos Adames (20-1, 16 KOs), 27, of the Dominican Republic, who is moving up to middleweight.
“I’m excited to get back in the ring and continue my journey toward becoming world champion,” Derevyanchenko said. “Adames is a good fighter and I respect what he can do, but he’s standing in my way right now.”
Derevyanchenko’s three losses have all come in middleweight title bouts, his last two fights in a row to Jermall Charlo and Gennadiy Golovkin, and to Daniel Jacobs.
Adames (20-1, 16 KOs) has won two fights in a row since getting knocked down in the 11th round and losing a decision to Patrick Teixeira for the vacant WBO interim junior middleweight belt in November 2019.
“I am very happy to return to action on Dec. 5,” Adames said. “I’m having an excellent and very demanding training camp, so my opponent better be 100 percent ready. It’s very exciting to be on the undercard of this huge event.”
In a meeting of former featherweight title challengers, Eduardo Ramirez (25-2-3, 12 KOs), 28, a southpaw from Mexico, will face Miguel Marriaga (30-4, 26 KOs), 35, of Colombia.
Ramirez claimed the vacant WBA interim featherweight belt in his last fight on May 1, also on the Ruiz-Arreola card, with a third-round knockout of Isaac Avelar. He later vacated the belt. In 2017, he challenged then-IBF featherweight titlist Lee Selby and dropped a unanimous decision.
“I can’t wait to be back on another big card against another very good fighter in Miguel Marriaga,” Ramirez said. “He’s very strong and he has good experience against top fighters. Vasiliy Lomachenko is the only one to stop him, but I will be the second because I need to make a statement with this fight and show everyone that I’m ready to fight for the title.”
Three of Marriaga’s losses have come in world title fights, by decision to Nicholas Walters for the vacant WBA featherweight title in 2015, by unanimous decision to Oscar Valdez for the WBO featherweight title in 2017 and by seventh-round knockout to Vasiliy Lomachenko for the WBO junior lightweight title later in 2017.
“Winning on Dec. 5 will propel me to another world title fight,” Marriaga said. “My only goal is to achieve my childhood dream of becoming a world champion and I’m not going to let this opportunity slip by me.”
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I’m impressed that PBC/Showtime seems to have righted the ship a bit with this event so quickly after the Romero debacle. I was pretty much a hard no as far as buying this PPV went originally (after Fury-Wilder III, Canelo-Plant, and Crawford-Porter, I’m not real keen on shelling out more money) but now I’ll at least consider it.