LAS VEGAS — Brian Mendoza is incredibly qualified to give his take on how the rematch between WBC junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora and Tim Tszyu will unfold when they square off July 19 at MGM Grand.

Mendoza scored one of the leading candidates for Upset and Knockout of the Year in April 2023 when he came from behind on the cards to blast Fundora in the seventh round. Six months later, Mendoza traveled to Australia for a title shot against Tszyu but dropped a unanimous decision.

Fundora (22-1-1, 14 KOs) and Tszyu (25-2, 18 KOs) went on to face each other last year, with the former winning in a bloodbath by split decision.

“I'm leaning toward Tszyu in the rematch,” Mendoza told The Ring. “I felt Fundora stepped up against Tszyu and lost some of those improvements in his last fight in March against Chordale Booker. But you have to take it with a grain of salt because sometimes you fight to the level of your competition. Tszyu looked calm and composed in his last fight against Joey Spencer, but again, you have to consider the level of competition. I think Tszyu improved more with his range and angles. He should edge it in a rematch.

“Fundora is there to get hit. It’s exciting for the fans, but it leaves him vulnerable. He has some defensive flaws, big time. I saw he’d been working on his jab with Tszyu, but if Tszyu didn’t have all that blood he would have been able to keep the fight at the range he wanted in a calm and composed fashion.

“I know it’s not a good thing to say, but I was banking on the knockout against Fundora, just because of our styles. I always said something would happen in the second half of our fight, and that’s literally what happened when I stepped it up and put heat on my shots.”

A stacked card headed by Premier Boxing Champions featuring two world championship contests, budding contenders and returning former titleholders headlined by Barrios-Pacquiao will cap Prime Video's coverage (8pm ET, 1am BST, $79.95 PPV) in Las Vegas this weekend.

Mendoza (23-4, 17 KOs) returned earlier this month for a stay-busy fight in Mexico and stopped journeyman Jesus Antonio Rojas in four rounds.

It was Mendoza's first fight since taking Serhii Bohachuk to the distance for the first time in the Ukrainian's career during a unanimous decision defeat in March 2024.