Brian Mendoza loses every round before coming back with brutal KO in ‘upset of the year’
Super welterweight boxer Brian Mendoza earned himself a huge shock win, and an interim title, with one of the knockouts of the year, after losing every round.
The beauty of combat sports, the reason that we can get so nervous watching them, is knowing that no matter what's come before, it can all end in a flash.
Leon Edwards proved that perfectly when he beat Kamaru Usman in their first fight for the UFC welterweight title last year, their second meeting.
Having lost every round of that fight, with the commentators talking about how he had already lost the fight, Edwards delivered a kick to the head with just over a minute of the last round left.
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Edwards avoided that fate in the rematch last month, in London, when he defeated the Nigerian on points, after psyching his opponent out with the coldest of pre fight taunts.
On Saturday night, super welterweight Sebastian Fundora went into his fight for the interim WBC title as the favourite, having been undefeated in his 21 fights up to that point.
He took on Mendoza, who'd only lost twice in his life, and dominated the fight, winning every single one of the opening six rounds.
However, in the seventh round, the underdog turned things around, essentially landing two knockout blows, as Fundora seemed out on his feet, before being knocked on his arse. The referee's 10 count feels somewhat unnecessary.
🤯 Ringside footage of Brian Mendoza’s stunning knockout of Sebastian Fundora.
— iD Boxing (@idboxingnews) April 9, 2023
What. A. Shot.
🎥 @ShowtimeBoxing pic.twitter.com/CckJ2Om2A3
Speaking afterwards, the 29-year-old victor said, "I never quit I kept going. You can beat me all you want, but if you don’t kill me, I’m coming back.
"They didn’t kill me in my career and it’s too late now, I’m getting better each time. I want to thank Fundora for taking this fight. He didn’t need to take it. It was really risky for where he was at.
"I saw he was open so I had to head in for the kill because I knew he wasn’t gonna stop coming either.
"This is my moment, this is my time. I predicted everything that was going to happen in my past two fights and how they were going to end and everything."
On being behind, the American added, "I started losing a couple rounds but I didn’t care. You’ll never see me give up.
"I would’ve given up years ago when I took some losses. I kept on sparring and look at me now. A year ago I was a swing bout after the main event, nobody cared who I was or what I was doing, this is proof. You keep working, you’re going to make it!"
Ryan Sidle