LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – AUGUST 8: Serhii Bohachuk and Vergil Ortiz face each other during a press conference … (+)
Undefeated Vergil Ortiz Jr. will attempt to capture the WBC interim super welterweight title on Saturday when he faces Serhii Bohachuk at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Boxing fans around the world can look forward to a fireworks display. Here you will find all the information you need to follow the fight.
- Date: August 10
- Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
- Stream: DAZN
Ortiz Jr. holds a record of 21-0 with 21 KOs, and Bohachuk of Ukraine has a record of 24-1 with 23 KOs. In addition to the high KO percentage of both fighters, the personal encounters between Ortiz and Bohachuk created a lot of excitement throughout fight week.
On Friday, Ortiz Jr. refused to break eye contact with Bohachuk during the final faceoff.
Bohachuk’s only loss was a TKO loss to Brandon Adams in 2021. Since that loss, he has won six fights in a row. Most recently, Bohachuk won a unanimous decision against Brian Mendoza to claim the interim title.
The victory came in the support program of the fight between Tim Tszyu and Sebastian Fundora in March.
Ortiz, who is promoted by Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy, has a machine behind him that could help him get significant opportunities. Ortiz’s high finish rate could win him even more fans, but activity was already a problem before this year.
The fight against Bohachuk will be Ortiz’s third fight in 2024 after not fighting at all in 2023 and only once in 2022.
Ortiz had agreed to face Tszyu this month, but the fight was canceled because it was believed that Tszyu needed more time to recover after his fight with Fundora.
It would have made sense for Bohachuk to face Fundora, as Fundora had won both the WBC and WBO titles in the same division by defeating Tsyzu.
Instead, Fundora was set to defend his title against Errol Spence Jr., but that has apparently been postponed. The winner of Ortiz-Bohachuk will next try to face Terence Crawford, but that could be difficult for Crawford with other, potentially more lucrative options on the table.
Crawford had his sights set on fighting Canelo Alvarez, but the Mexican icon, who is scheduled to defend his lightweight title against Edgar Berlanga on September 14, does not seem keen on fighting Bud.
If Crawford does not decide to pull out of the fight and continues to fight, he could hope for a rematch against Spence, a fight against Ortiz or a fight against Jaron “Boots” Ennis to cement his claim to supremacy in the 154-pound division.
The winner of Saturday’s Ortiz-Bohachuk fight will move on to compete in a suddenly interesting 154-pound division. Here’s a look at the full lineup of fights on the DAZN card, by far the biggest boxing event on a quiet weekend.
- Gabriela Fundora (13-0-0) vs. Daniela Asenjo (16-3-3) – IBF World Fly
- Cecilia Braekhus (37-2-1) vs. Maricela Cornejo (19-6-0) – WBC Interim World Super Welter
- Charles Conwell (19-0-0) vs. Khiary Gray (#160) – Super welterweights
