Of late, the light middleweight has emerged as one of boxing’s most engrossing weight divisions. Opening windows to a range of zesty matchups and potential lineups, some of the sport’s biggest names are currently hogging the spotlight at 154 pounds. The interest in the weight class intensified following the Sebastian Fundora–Tim Tszyu headliner at the PBC-Amazon Prime inaugural event. Midway through the year, the arrival of Terence Crawford and Vergil Ortiz Jr. stirred up the excitement. Bakhram Murtazaliev‘s recent resounding victory over Tim Tszyu turned everyone’s head.

In light of the current happenings, to some, it may appear intriguing that the light middleweight had a major lineup staring at it. It’s been some time since the talks about a Sebastian Fundora-Errol Spence Jr. face-off surfaced. But over time, the prospects of the fight occurring became uncertain. However, it appears all is not lost—there’s light at the end of the tunnel. A new update on the much-anticipated clash should raise the sagging spirits.

A few reports have shared that talks between Spence Jr.’s promotions team and the sanctioning body, WBO, seemingly ended on a positive note. Sebastian Fundora currently holds the San Juan, Puerto Rico-based organization’s light middleweight belt.

The problem stemmed from Spence Jr.’s position in the WBO rankings. He is Fundora’s WBC challenger. However, as far as the WBO rankings go, he doesn’t feature among the top fifteen. So this presented a peculiar challenge. How can a title defense be offered when a challenger is not present in the top ten position?

Interestingly, while the talks of a matchup against Spence Jr. drifted, late in August, WBO informed ‘The Towering Inferno’ that he might have to defend his title from the newly crowned interim champion Terence Crawford. Early in the month, the Nebraskan southpaw had defeated Israil Madrimov, marking a thumping entry into the division.

However, subsequent reports suggested that the Crawford and Fundora camps had reached an agreement. It allowed the Florida-born champion to pursue a voluntary defense before rounding for an eventual square-up with Crawford. But there was a spin on the situation. On October 10, Dan Rafael shared, “WBO tells me they will accept this, but Fundora optional cannot be vs. Spence as he is not [in their] top 15 rankings. Keep in mind Fundora could vacate the WBO and still has the WBC [title], which could approve Spence.”

Errol Spence Jr. vs. Sebastian Fundora: At last, a glimmer of hope

WBO’s annual convention took place in Puerto Rico. The top management of the sanctioning body seems to have undergone a few changes. Reportedly, TGB Promotions, who take care of Spence Jr., reached out to the new President Gustavo Olivieri and petitioned to elevate Spence Jr. among the top 10 rankings.

Olivieri, it seems, found the arguments presented on behalf of the former unified welterweight champion quite compelling. However, it will take a few days before the sanctioning body can reach a decision and confirm. Considering ‘The Truth’s past record and current standing, there’s hope the Fundora matchup may finally take some shape.

Errol Spence Jr. hasn’t fought since the first loss to Terence Crawford last year. He had in the past suggested retiring from the sport. While he stepped into a new role as a promoter, there’s a good chance that he might want to depart on a high note as a world champion.

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If the Spence Jr.-Fundora fight comes to fruition, who will be your pick for the win?