WBC super welterweight champion Sebastian “The Towering Inferno” Fundora puts his title on the line Saturday night against former unified welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman, headlining PBC Pay-Per-View on Prime Video from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The main card begins at 8:00 PM ET, with preliminaries on Prime Video and YouTube starting at 5:30 PM ET. The PPV price is $74.99.

The fight, originally scheduled for October 25, 2025, was postponed after Fundora suffered a hand injury during training camp. That delay, which in hindsight we now estimate at almost five months, has only added hope to the anticipation of a fight that features a physical anomaly in his prime against one of the most naturally gifted fighters of the last decade trying to prove that time has not run out.

Fundora (23-1-1, 15 KO) vs. Thurman (31-1, 23 KO, 1 NC) – 12 rounds, WBC super welterweight title

At 6 feet 5½ inches and with an 80-inch reach, Fundora is the greatest champion in the history of the 154-pound division. The 28-year-old southpaw doesn’t wrestle like his frame would suggest. Instead of boxing long and using jabs to keep his opponents at bay, Fundora is ecstatic to work from the inside, throwing weighty hooks and uppercuts from angles most super welterweights have never seen. This approach makes him both exhilarating and vulnerable, and both qualities were revealed in a career-defining way.

Fundora won the vacant WBC title after a dominant stoppage from Tim Tszyu in their rematch last July, erasing any doubts left after the first meeting. Previously, in March 2025, he demolished Booker’s Chordale in four rounds. The only blemish on his record – a seventh-round knockout loss to Brian Mendoza in April 2023 – is a reminder that Fundora’s willingness to trade comes at a cost. He was behind when Mendoza caught him, a fact that comes to lithe when he comes face to face with another fighter with real power in his hands.

Thurman, 37, needs no introduction to stern boxing fans. The Clearwater, Florida native holds the unified WBA and WBC welterweight titles and has built a reputation on elite hand speed, striking combinations and a crowd-pleasing style that made him one of the PBC’s biggest assets in the mid-2010s. His victories over Danny Garcia and Shawn Porter remain among the best victories ever achieved by a welterweight fighter during that era.

The problem, as has been the case for years, is activity. Thurman’s only professional defeat came via split decision to Manny Pacquiao in July 2019. Since that night, he has fought just two fights – a majority decision over Mario Barrios in February 2023 and a stoppage of Brock Jarvis last March in his super welterweight debut. Chronic injuries, particularly to his hands and elbows, robbed him of years of what should have been the highlight of his career.

Thurman’s self-confidence remains considerable and he has never hesitated to show it. Before this fight, he called himself the “Final Boss” and warned Fundora that he was going to expose him to the canvas. The central question of the evening will be whether behind this bravado lies the reflexes and endurance that once made him an elite player.

Fundora becomes a significant betting favorite at -380, and the rationale is straightforward: he’s younger, more dynamic, physically huge for his weight, and has won consecutive stoppages. Thurman’s route to victory likely runs through the middle rounds – using his speed advantage to time Fundora’s appearance, working his body and counting rounds before fatigue becomes a factor. If Thurman can get Fundora to respect his power early, this fight could be tighter than the odds suggest. If he can’t do this, Fundora’s size and volume will likely overwhelm him within 12 rounds.

Tellez (11-1, 8 KO) vs. Mendoza (23-4, 17 KO) – co-main event in the super welterweight division

A co-feature is a slow addition to the card, replacing the rescheduled heavyweight eliminator Frank Sanchez vs. Richard Torrez Jr after Sanchez aggravated a lingering knee injury. However, on paper, the Yoenis Tellez vs. Brian Mendoza at 154 pounds is a fight full of intrigue.

Tellez, 25, is an emerging Cuban talent who was on his way to a title shot before losing a unanimous decision to German Abass Baraou for the interim WBA super welterweight title last August. He returned to form after a fifth-round stoppage against Kendo Castaneda in December and was already in camp for the March 21 fight when the opportunity arose. His early career wins over Sergio Garcia and former champion Julian Williams have put him firmly on the division’s radar, and forceful performances here could put him back among the top contenders.

Mendoza, 32, is best known for handing Fundora the only knockout loss of his career – a stunning seventh-round finish that won him the 2023 WBC interim title. It remains his signature moment, but the fights that followed were less kind. He lost by unanimous decision to Tszyu and Serhii Bohachuk, and his only appearance since then was a fourth-round stoppage of journeyman Jesus Rojas last July. Mendoza still wields legitimate power, but this fight will tell if his best is behind him or if there’s still enough in the tank to threaten the upper echelons of the division.

For both men, the stakes are straightforward: the loser will face a long road back to one of boxing’s deepest divisions.

Hernandez (9-0, 8 KO) vs. Gausha (24-5-1, 12 KO) — middleweight, 10 rounds

Yoenli Hernandez might be the most threatening adolescent fighter on this card not named Fundora. The 28-year-old Cuban is a two-time amateur world champion (2021 Belgrade, 2023 Tashkent), who has translated his pedigree into an excellent professional record determined by early results. The 6-foot-2 Hernandez combines length, hand speed and shock power in a way that could be compared to a adolescent middleweight on the verge of arriving. Philadelphia coach Stephen Edwards, who watched Hernandez defeat his fighter Kyrone Davis last May, told BoxingScene that Hernandez may already be the best middleweight in the world.

Terrell Gausha, the 2012 U.S. Olympian, is the kind of opponent who provides a telling answer to the hype. The 38-year-old shared the ring with, among others, Erislandy Lara, Austin Trout and Elijah Garcia and consistently tried to fight even after defeat. If Hernandez can handle Gausha with the authority his talent suggests, a world title fight will soon become a reality in a middleweight division that is suddenly full of fascinating matchups.

Hovhannisyan (9-0, 8 KO) vs. Navarro (15-3, 13 KO) — heavyweight, 10 rounds (PPV opener)

Gurgen “Huge Gug” Hovhannisyan is a 6-foot-7-inch, 290-pound Armenian heavyweight trained by Hall of Fame cornerback Joe Goossen. The 28-year-old Hovhannisyan is still developing, but he has shown that he has the right tools – in 2022 at the Barclays Center he stopped Michael Polite Coffi in six rounds and still regularly scores knockouts. His majority victory over Patrick Mailata in 2024, during which he battled illness and adversity, may have been the most illuminating event of his adolescent career.

Cesar Navarro, 26, of Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, is 15-3 with 13 knockouts. It represents a significant step down from the Frank Sanchez fight that was originally scheduled for this venue, but Hovhannisyan needs rounds against willing opponents as he heads towards the upper echelon of the heavyweight division. Goossen said he wanted his fighter to develop his footwork and IQ in the middleweight ring despite his massive frame – this is the type of fight where this development should be apparent.

Garcia (17-1, 13 KO) vs. Newman II (18-3-1, 11 KO) — super middleweight, 10 rounds (elimination headliner)

Elijah Garcia will be the main character of the eliminations in a fight moved from part of the PPV gala after the postponement of the Sanchez-Torrez match. The 22-year-old from Glendale, Arizona, is a fourth-generation athlete who turned professional at age 16 after winning the U.S. Amateur Championship. The early days of Garcia’s career were characterized by legitimate knockout power – a fourth-round demolition of previously undefeated Amilcar Vidal in 2023 declared him a name to watch – and a willingness to be tested. His lone loss, a split decision to Kyrone Davis in June 2024, came after he missed weight, and he bounced back with a split decision to Terrell Gausha last March.

Kevin Newman II (34) fights in Las Vegas and is trained by Roy Jones Jr. The former Mayweather Promotions fighter holds the WBA-NABA super middleweight title and has the experience that could test Garcia’s composure. Newman is a boxer who has never been stopped, and while he lacks Garcia’s edge, he is a reliable measure for a adolescent fighter still on the rise.

What does this card mean for PBC

This is PBC’s first pay-per-view event of 2026 and, by the organization’s own admission, the start of an ambitious spring schedule that will see David Benavidez headline the Cinco de Mayo event on May 2. Two major PPV events in five weeks would mark the level that PBC critics have expected since the move from Showtime to Amazon Prime Video. The main event will be a high-quality championship fight with real stylistic intrigue. The undercard, while reshuffled following losses to Sanchez and Torrez, still features prospects and contenders in competitive matchups – particularly Hernandez-Gausha and Tellez-Mendoza, both of which carry real implications for the division.

Whether the $74.99 price point provides value will ultimately depend on the fights themselves. On paper, Fundora-Thurman has the ingredients for an unforgettable evening: a powerful champion with an upturned chin, a proud veteran with everything to prove and the weight of a division waiting to see who will emerge as its undisputed face.