Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images

By Shawn De Guzman

Sebastian Fundora promised during the weigh-in that the ‘Towering Inferno’ would burn Las Vegas down once again.

And he did just that with a scintillating performance that left his challenger Keith Thurman beaten black-and-blue in the sixth round to retain his WBC super welterweight title on Sunday (Manila time) at the MGM Grand Arena.

Fundora utilized all of his nine-inch height and 11-inch reach advantage against the 37-year-old, inflicting damage from afar and then showering Thurman with big hits to force the referee to stop the fight at the 1:17 mark of the sixth.

"It was a lot easier than I expected," Fundora said. 

"I was a little nervous today because he's such a big name. Again, he's such a big fighter. But we got in there and I reminded myself as soon as we stepped into that ring that this is my world. You're in my world,” he added.

Fundora defended his title for the third time and improved his record to 24-1-1 while handing Thurman his second defeat and first knockout loss. Thurman last tasted defeat in 2019 when he dropped a unanimous decision against Manny Pacquiao.