Sebastian Fundora vs Ermal Hadribeaj Preview October 17th, 2026
WBC Junior Middleweight Champion Sebastian Fundora of West Palm Beach, Florida puts his belt on the line again this Saturday, October 17th when he faces unbeaten Ermal Hadribeaj of Albania. The 12-round battle of southpaws from Las Vegas, Nevada can be seen live on DAZN in most nations as well as on TNT and Tru TV in America. Fundora won the vacant WBC Belt and the WBO Title when he beat Tim Tzsyu via split decision in a bloody battle in 2024. Fundora defended both belts against Chordale Booker by fourth-round stoppage but the WBO then stripped him for fighting a rematch with Tzsyu, which he won by seventh-round stoppage. His next and most-recent outing was a fifth-round TKO over former world champion Keith Thurman in March. Hadribeaj last saw ring action in May when he beat Bakary Samake by a 12-round unanimous decision to retain his Silver Super Welterweight Title.
Fundora vs Hadribeaj Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Ermal Hadribeaj +1000
- Sebastian Fundora -2500
My Pick
The 28-year-old ‘Towering Inferno’ Fundora is a bit of a freak of nature as he stands just over 6-feet-5-inches tall with an 80-inch reach. This gives him a 7.5-inch height advantage over Hadribeaj. However, similar advantages over Brian Mendoza didn’t help him out in April, 2023 when he was stopped in the seventh round to lose the WBC Interim Title for his lone pro defeat, Fundora climbs into the ring with a fine record of 24-1-1 with 16 Ko’s and has boxed 145 rounds since making his pro debut in 2016 following his amateur career.
Fundora has better-than average power to go along with a pretty good chin as 66.7 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage. However, he has halted just four of his last eight opponents. His lone draw was a 10-round affair with Jamontay Clark in August, 2019 in a shot at the vacant WBC Youth Welterweight Title. Along with beating Thurman and Tzsyu, Fundora has also beaten the likes of Carlos Ocampo, Erickson Lubin, Donnie Marshall, Nathaniel Gallimore, Habib Ahmed, Jorge Cota and Garcia as a pro.
The 32-year-old Hadribeaj, who fights out of Miami Beach, Florida, makes the ring walk with a near-perfect record of 23-0-1 with 8 Ko’s. He made his pro debut in 2019 and has 180 rounds of experience under his belt. He also fought pro as a mixed-martial artist and reportedly went 4-1. He measures 5-feet-10-inches tall but unfortunately has an unlisted reach. When it comes to power, Hadribeaj is lacking in that area as just 34.8 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage and he’s gone the distance in five of his past six outings.
Hadribeaj won the WBC Mediterranean Super Welterweight Title in 2021 and the vacant NABF Junior Super Welterweight Belt in 2022. He also captured the vacant WBC International Title in 2022 and has defended it eight times. Hadribeaj’s biggest wins have been against Leonardo Di Stefano, Carlos Molina, Placido Ramirez and Bakary Samake so he’ll be taking a big step up in class this Saturday. The lone blemish on his record is a four-round draw with Javonn Davis in 2019 in his third pro fight and he also has a no-contest with Charles Stanford in 2022.
Prediction…
As usual, Fundora has a huge height and reach advantage here and I expect him to use it. Fundora likes to fight on the inside despite his size and since Hadribeaj lacks power there’s not really any need for the champion to use distance. Hadribeaj is the mandatory challenger and obviously possesses good boxing skills or he wouldn’t be undefeated. He’s going to need a good chin too though. I think Fundora’s size and pressure will be too much for the challenger and expect him to win. But if Hadribeaj does have a solid chin it may go the distance. But I doubt it.
Fundora’s size and pressure will determine the outcome.
Play Fundora -2500 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Ermal Hadribeaj betting • Sebastian Fundora betting