Las Vegas, Nevada - Junior middleweight contender Sebastian Fundora (19-0-1, 13 KOs) was forced to get off the floor to stop Erickson Lubin (24-2, 17 KOs) in nine rounds. (photo by Ryan Hafey)

The contest was called at the end of the ninth, when Lubin's head trainer, Kevin Cunningham, felt his boxer had taken too much punishment.

Fundora began to apply a lot of pressure in the second round and took the fight to Lubin, who was willing to stand and trade on the inside. Fundora staggered Lubin's chin and dropped him with an uppercut in the closing seconds.

At the start of the seventh, Lubin appeared to be on the verge of getting stopped - but then he hurt Fundora with a big hook and landed several more hooks to force Fundora down at the end of the round. 

By the seventh, the face of Lubin was severely swollen on both sides, and he was bleeding from the nose and mouth.

During the ninth, Fundora was unloading with a lot of shots and seemed to be close to a stoppage win when the bell rang. 

Fundora praised Cunningham for stopping the fight.

“I think it was a good decision for Kevin Cunningham to stop the fight,” said Fundora. “His face shifted from round one to round nine. It completely morphed and there was a lot of blood coming out. He’s a tough fighter. He was in the game the whole time but there’s no need to get hurt that much.”

Lubin was taken to UMC Trauma Center for further observation post fight. For Fundora, he puts himself in position to face the winner of the undisputed 154-pound title rematch between Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano, taking place May 14 on Showtime.

“I see Charlo winning the fight against Castano,” said Fundora. “I feel like he’ll be too strong for Castano the second time. If Castano wins, that’s great too. I just want to go after all of them. This is the interim belt so I want the world champion title. I want the real deal.”