Buzzer-Beater: Fundora Stops Hadribeaj at the Final Bell to Keep the WBC Title

Twelve rounds. Two point deductions. And then the bell — and the stoppage — arrived together.

Sebastian Fundora kept his WBC super welterweight title Saturday night at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas with a last-second stoppage of mandatory challenger Ermal Hadribeaj. BoxingScene's Lance Pugmire called it a TKO at the final bell of the 12th. Ringside scorer Sean Zittel had referee Thomas Taylor waving the bout off with no time left. The Ring posted the forever line: AND STILL.

Fundora, 28, moves to 25-1-1 with 17 knockouts and makes it four successful defenses of the belt. Hadribeaj, the unbeaten Albanian southpaw out of Miami, falls to 23-1-1 and takes the first loss of his career.

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What happened

Hadribeaj made it ugly early — digging to the body, smothering on the inside, and forcing the action into a clinch war that cost him a point for excessive holding in round 3. Fundora's left uppercut started finding a home by the middle rounds, and by the championship rounds the challenger was hanging on. Bad Left Hook had Fundora rolling late (108-99 through 11 after a second holding deduction in the 11th), and the champion kept ripping body shots that painted Hadribeaj's ribs. At the buzzer of the 12th, Fundora landed the shot that ended it.

It was the kind of finish that settles an argument and starts another. Fundora needed a statement night after a mandatory that some of the 154-pound peanut gallery treated like a soft booking. He got one — messy, physical, and finished on the last tick of the clock.

What they said / how it was called

The Ring: "Sebastian Fundora makes his 4th successful title defense against Ermal Hadribeaj to remain the WBC junior middleweight champion." Pugmire, live from the card for BoxingScene: "Fundora TKO win at the final bell in the 12th!" Zittel: knockout "literally at the buzzer" as Taylor waved it off with no time left.

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On the undercard

The night was already a salvage job after Brandon Figueroa fell ill and his bout with Tomoki Kameda was cancelled (we covered that earlier). Armando Resendiz, the late sub for injured Jermall Charlo, answered with a war: unanimous decision over Australia's Koen Mazoudier, 98-92 (Eric Cheek), 97-93 (Max DeLuca) and 97-93 (Don Trella). Resendiz told BoxingScene he wanted to give the fans a fight, and he did — Mazoudier buckled late in the 10th after a night of mutual power shots.

Marco Romero stayed unbeaten with a first-round TKO of Braulio Matias Ferreira at 1:54 — his third straight first-round knockout — and Jaime Enrique Osuna Diaz edged Cristian Cangelosi by majority decision (77-75, 77-75, 76-76). Phoenix's David "King" Garcia opened with a second-round KO of Angel Carrillo.

What's next

Fundora has talked undisputed at 154, and the Ennis-Kelly winner remains the loudest name on the whiteboard. Hadribeaj proved he belonged for long stretches, then ran out of gas against a champion who thrives when the fight turns into a wrestling match with punches. For now the belt stays with Fundora.

If you had Fundora inside the distance — or just surviving 12 — check your Boxbid fight predictions and bank the free points next time you Guess the Rounds. For the lead-up, we already flagged this as the most left-leaning main event of the year, and the Figueroa pullout that reshaped the card.

Sources: The Ring, BoxingScene (Lance Pugmire), Sean Zittel, Bad Left Hook, Fightmag, Bleacher Report, Premier Boxing Champions.