LAS VEGAS — Sebastian Fundora and Ermal Hadribeaj both made weight Friday, but the bigger news came in the co-main event. Brandon Figueroa weighed in at 127.4 pounds on his first attempt, 1.4 over the featherweight limit. He was given an hour to make 126, did not, and was stripped of his WBA title, The Ring reported. Tomoki Kameda made weight at 125.8 pounds and will be crowned champion if he beats Figueroa on Saturday night at The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan.
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Sebastian Fundora will defend his WBC Super Welterweight Title against Ermal Hadribeaj on Saturday in Las Vegas.
In the main event, WBC super welterweight champion Fundora (24-1-1, 16 KOs) weighed 152.8 pounds and unbeaten mandatory challenger Hadribeaj (23-0-1, 8 KOs) weighed 152.4, both inside the 154-pound limit. Fundora sounded relaxed about the scale all week. “I’m very comfortable making weight,” he said Thursday. “I ate breakfast today.”
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Sebastian Fundora speaks with the media at Thurday's final presser ahead of his WBC Super Welterweight title defense against Ermal Hadribeaj on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
He has been fighting for 22 years and says he is still learning. “It’s been a lot of learning and now we’re showing you guys,” Fundora said. He arrives off a sixth-round stoppage of former world champion Keith Thurman in March, and he spoke openly about the one loss on his record. “Losing to Brian Mendoza made me realize some things,” he said. “Obviously if you make mistakes, you’re gonna get hurt. It’s not just about realizing the mistake, but learning from it.” He has finished 16 of his 24 wins inside the distance, and at 6-foot-5 he remains one of the most awkward problems to solve in the sport.
Hadribeaj is the one trying to solve it. The “Albanian Sniper” beat previously unbeaten Bakary Samake in May to earn this opportunity, and he insists his game plan goes beyond just surviving the height. “We worked a lot in training camp and I think we have the key,” he said. “If that key doesn’t work, I have another key in my pocket.”
He dismissed the idea that Fundora has the upper hand anywhere but the tape measure, saying, “Everyone thinks he has the advantage, but his only advantage is that he’s tall.” Only eight of his 23 wins have come by knockout, but he says the power is there. “I’m able to out box him and I have the power to hurt him as well.”
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Ermal Hadribeaj answers questions from Chris Mannix and the media at Thursday's final press conference.
Fundora has not hidden where he wants to go next. During an Instagram Live last week, he said, “I’d like to unify. I want the winner between Jaron Ennis and Josh Kelly. I think that’s the best fight in the 154-pound division.” On Thursday, he made it clear that none of that matters until Hadribeaj is dealt with. “We have Ermal in front of us and we’re not overlooking him at all. You can’t overlook anyone. After Saturday, you can ask me all the questions.”
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Sebastian Fundora speaks directly at Ermal Hadribeaj during Thursday's final press conference.
Figueroa (27-2-1, 20 KOs) was supposed to make the first defense of the WBA featherweight title he won with a 12th-round TKO of Nick Ball in Liverpool in February. Instead, he failed to make the 126-pound limit even with an extra hour, and a co-main event built around a champion now has a different set of stakes. Thursday, Figueroa left no doubt about his intentions. “This belt isn’t going anywhere. I promise you that.” He had also said last week he wanted to “break Tomoki Kameda’s heart.”
Kameda (42-5, 23 KOs), a former world champion who calls himself “El Mexicanito,” now has a clear path back to the top. Beat Figueroa and the WBA featherweight title is his, while a Figueroa victory would not return it to him. Kameda said he learned from his loss to Angelo Leo and understands what is on the line. “Chances like this don’t come around too often so I have to be 100% focused.” Kameda could not help but admit that he feels disrespected because he also suffered to make weight and not only missed weight but did not show up to the ceremonial obligation Friday afternoon.
The undercard has plenty of story as well. Armando Reséndiz (16-3, 11 KOs) steps in against Australia’s Koen Mazoudier (16-4-1, 6 KOs) in a 10-round super middleweight bout after Jermall Charlo withdrew with an injury earlier this month. Reséndiz, a former world champion who scored an upset victory over Caleb Plant in 2025, is fighting for the first time since losing his title, as TGB Promotions president Tom Brown pointed out. “It’s been a roller coaster for me, but I’ve proven that I will always get back up,” Reséndiz said.
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Armando "Toro" Resendiz speaks with the media during Thursday's final presser
The night opens with unbeaten Marco Romero (15-0, 13 KOs) against Uruguay’s Braulio Ferreira (8-3, 3 KOs) in an eight-round super middleweight fight. Brown called Romero “one of the top prospects in boxing today,” and the fighters sounded ready to start the show early. Ferreira promised, “I’m coming to knock him out before the fourth round.” Romero, who has sparred with Osleys Iglesias and Christian Mbilli, had a short answer. “You’re gonna get bit by the shark.”
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Marco Romero, left, and Braulio Ferreira face off during Thursday’s final press conference for “The Fight” at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
The card begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT as the fourth installment of the monthly series, which TNT Sports and DAZN say has reached 7.3 million total viewers through three events. It streams live on TNT, truTV and DAZN. Todd Grisham hosts studio coverage alongside Terence Crawford, Tim Bradley Jr. and Shawn Porter, and Corey Erdman handles play-by-play with analysts Sergio Mora and Chris Mannix.
For Fundora, Saturday is another defense with a bigger fight waiting behind it. For Hadribeaj, a win would make him, by his own account, the first Albanian world champion. And for Kameda, a night that began as a challenge now offers a title if he can finish the job.