American boxer Erickson Lubin was taken to hospital with a broken nose and battered face after losing to Sebastian Fundora.
Lubin put up a gutsy display against Fundora in their WBC interim super welterweight title last weekend. After absorbing 233 punches, the fight was stopped after the ninth round as 24-year-old Fundora remained unbeaten.
Fundora, who threw over 700 punches in the fight, left Lubin's face badly swollen on both sides and the American was bleeding from his nose and mouth. Lupin was taken to a local hospital in Las Vegas after the loss having suffered a broken nose and a separated shoulder.
His trainer Kevin Cunningham didn't allow Lupin to start the tenth round and Fundora thinks his opponent's coach made the right call to not send him back out. “I think it was a good decision for Kevin Cunningham to stop the fight," he said.
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"His face shifted from round one to round nine. It completely morphed and there was a lot of blood coming out. He’s a tough fighter. He was in the game the whole time but there’s no need to get hurt that much.”
Fundora knocked down Lubin in the second round with a big uppercut but he didn't have it all his own way in the fight, being forced to take a knee in seventh round after an onslaught from Lubin.
Lubin was released from the hospital a day after the fight with his shoulder, which will require surgery, in a sling. The 26-year-old had won six consecutive fights before his interim title shot against Fundora.
Fundora, who at 6'6" is a massive 154lb fighter, is hoping to fight unified light middleweight champion Jermell Charlo next. After putting on the "best performance" of his career, Fundora is confident he could stop Charlo in two rounds if they fought.
"Charlo has three of the belts right now. For him to win [against Castano] I see it... not easily happening, but it's the one that's going to happen. If we could go and take it all from him that would be great," Fundora told Fight Hype.
"I think this was probably my best performance ever. It was a back-and-forth fight. The uppercut was landing like no other. It lands most of the time with everybody. Southpaw. Right hand. It doesn't matter. Once I find that, I feel like the job's done.
