All roads in the flyweight division go through
Gabriela Fundora.
Originally scheduled to face Argentina's Ayelen "Piru" Granadino, the 23-year-old will now defend her undisputed crown against highly ranked contender
Alexas Kubicki on Sept. 20 at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California.
Canada's Kubicki (13-1, 2 KOs) replaces the 27-year-old on little more than a week's notice, after Granadino had been denied her visa into the US.
BoxingScene were first to report the reasons behind Fundora-Granadino fell through.
Being an undisputed champion is one of Gabriela's proud achievements, but also comes with pressure to live up to the hype.
Fundora (16-0, 8 KOs) is by no means worried or stressed about the moment. The way she sees it, pressure is a privilege.
"I want to put on another good performance and make sure I get another spectacular knockout," Fundora told Red Glove News on their YouTube channel.
When it comes to violent knockouts, Fundora has become the queen of them. The four-year pro has dismissed each of her last two opponents in the seventh round, though Kubicki figures to be a far trickier task.
The 22-year-old does have a head-scratching blunder on her resume, losing to Linda Contreras Ibarra in May 2023, an opponent with a 3-5-3 win-loss-draw record. Besides that though, she's gone on a seven-fight win streak.
Among those victories, she most recently scored a wide decision over Alondra Yamile Hernandez Mendoza on May 23. Now, circumstances have presented themselves to a place where she's just one win from claiming every major flyweight title.
Fundora though, knows contenders like Kubicki will continually gun for her throne and that doesn't bother her. She's leaned on her trainers and older brother, reigning WBC junior middleweight world champion
Sebastian Fundora.
Kubicki, while motivated, is still a heavy underdog. Fundora nevertheless, doesn’t believe the odds will play a role. She knows good and well that Kubicki is primed and ready to do whatever it takes to get the job done.
"I expect her to come a thousand percent prepared," Fundora continued. "That's what I expect."