Serhii Bohachuk-Vergil Ortiz Jr. Expected Clash at 154 pounds Set for Aug. 10 at Michelob ULTRA Arena

Serhii Bohachuk and Vergil Ortiz Jr. they were not the first choice of the other.

However, their fight is somehow the best situation for both of them.

Golden Boy Promotions and 360 Promotions confirmed the verbal match between the top middleweights. Bohachuk puts his interim WBC 154-pound title on the line on the August 10 DAZN show from the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.

“Serhii has been through a lot,” 360 Promotions founder Tom Loeffler told The Ring. “Tolerating the invasion of his country while waiting for his visa to return to the United States. He received special permission as a professional athlete to continue his boxing career.”

Bohachuck (24-1, 23 knockouts) has won six in a row dating back to a March 2021 loss to Brandon Adams (24-3, 16 KOs). Chief among them was his March 30 points victory over Brian Mendoza to claim his second WBC 154-pound title.

The fight was a compromise made by Bohachuk, No. 4 at 154 by The Ring, who had to face Sebastian Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs). A roster change saw Fundora face and defeat Tim Tsyzu (24-1, 17 KOs) to win the WBO and WBC heavyweight titles.

Bohachuk, a 29-year-old Ukrainian based in Los Angeles, is set for an interim title fight against Mendoza. The agreement came with the guarantee that he will face the winner but the WBC has not yet decided the fight. Fundora, of The Ring’s No. 1 ranked junior middleweight, reportedly due to challenge for the next welterweight unification title in Errol Spence (28-1, 22 KOs) in the fall.

Fittingly, Bohachuk earned this opportunity when Tszyu was unable to continue his scheduled clash against Ortiz (21-0, 21 KOs). Tszyu-Ortiz was slated to grace Riyadh’s season opener on August 3 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. However, Tsyzu was forced to withdraw due to being cut off from the Fundora fight which had not yet fully recovered to receive medical clearance.

That led to Bohachuk putting his second title on the line against Ortiz at a show promoted by Golden Boy one week later.

“We are looking forward to a big win for Vergil Ortiz,” said Oscar De La Hoya, head of Golden Boy Promotions. “A difficult battle, a difficult enemy. But it will be his first official world title fight.”

Ortiz was on the verge of winning a second welterweight title last summer. However, he withdrew days before rescheduling his July 8 WBA ‘Regular’ title challenge against Eimantas Stanionis.

The fallout saw Ortiz sit out all of 2023 without a fight and be inactive until August 2022. The 26-year-old from Grand Prairie, Texas made up for lost time with two first-round knockouts earlier this year.

Now comes the part where his side hopes that greater risk leads to greater reward.

“I’m looking for Vergil Ortiz to be the next star in boxing,” emphasized De La Hoya, a six-time Hall of Fame inductee. “He is 21-0 with 21 goals. You don’t get to that place without having the talent and skills to be the best.”

Bohachuk is in that department.

“Serhii won the WBC Interim World Title and now he is looking forward to defending it while fighting for Ukraine in the ring,” said Loeffler. “Vergil Ortiz is a very dangerous opponent, but nothing will stop Serhii from winning.”

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