Smiling Through The Staredown: Chordale Booker’s Non-Confrontational Style Contrasts Sharply With Sebastian Fundora’s ‘Mean-Mugging’

Chordale Booker looked uncomfortable during yesterday’s face-off for his fight against WBC and WBO 154-lb champion Sebastian Fundora this Saturday, March 22nd, for their 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT event, live on PBC on Prime Video. The ringwalks for Fundora vs. Booker will be around 10:30 p.m. ET / 7:40 p.m. PT.

Chordale (23-1, 11 KOs) kept smiling each time he was asked to face off, and Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs) had to encourage him to get into character for this. You could tell that Chordale sees this stuff for what it is. It’s publicity. He’s not the type to try and psych out his opponents by mean-mugging them like many fighters tend to do. That stuff doesn’t work, but insecure boxers often use it.

Much of the shine from Fundora’s upset victory over WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu last March has disappeared after the Aussie was obliterated in three brutal rounds by IBF 154-lb champion Bakhram Murtazaliev last October.

In contrast, Fundora took 12 grueling rounds to defeat Tszyu by a split decision in a bloodbath. Sebastian’s victory was aided by a deep scalp cut that Tim sustained in round two after an accidental elbow hit him.

Boxing fans don’t know how good Fundora is because Tszyu and Erickson Lubin are his only notable victories during his nine-year professional career. Before Fundora’s upset victory over Tszyu, he’d been knocked out in the seventh round by Brian Mendoza on April 8, 2023.

“Rocky-Style”

“I think it was a good fight for what it was. I think Tim Tszyu’s mind wasn’t there, honestly,” said Sebastian Fundora during yesterday’s media workoutdiscussing his last opponent, Tszyu’s recent loss to IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev.

“We do watch a lot of boxing,” said Fundora when asked if he studied a lot of tape on Chordale Booker’s past fights. “We know what works and doesn’t work. We’re in that ring a day after or a couple of hours after we watch those fights.

“We see what works and what doesn’t work for us. We see what’s real in the sport. It’s hard. This is not for the faint of heart. This is definitely a Rocky-style training camp,” said Fundora about the hard work he put in preparing for his title defense against Booker.

First facing Sebastian Fundora and Chordale Booker

And it is face to face because the face to face does not proceed with this height difference 👀#FundoraBooker

(Video of @TGBpromotions ) pic.twitter.com/eoLzEYmbGi

— JuliusJulianis (@julianisjulius) March 20, 2025