Yoenis Tellez from Cuba has been called to compete against Brian Mendoza in a junior middleweight clash that will now serve as the co-main event for Sebastian Fundora’s WBC 154-pound title defense against Keith Thurman on March 28 in Las Vegas.
The Tellez-Mendoza bout replaces the heavyweight match between Richard Torrez Jr. and Frank Sanchez, which was postponed due to Sanchez experiencing complications from a knee injury.
Tellez (11-1, 8 KOs), aged 25, faced his first career defeat when he lost a unanimous decision to Abass Baraou for the WBA interim junior middleweight title last August. The Cuban fighter rebounded with a stoppage victory over Kendo Castaneda in December and is currently ranked in the top 10 of ESPN’s divisional rankings, participating as the co-main event for the PBC on Prime Video PPV.
Mendoza (23-4, 17 KOs) is known for having knocked out Fundora in 2023 to claim the WBC interim junior middleweight title. He was trailing on all three scorecards before achieving the remarkable knockout, which marked Fundora’s sole loss as a professional. Since then, Mendoza has recorded a 1-2 record, with defeats against Tim Tszyu and Serhii Bohachuk, but he returned to winning form with a TKO victory over Jesus Antonio Rojas last July.
