Dethroned WBC interim junior middleweight champion Serhii Bohachuk’s promoter, Tom Loeffler, was angry about his fighter losing a questionable 12-round majority decision to Vergil Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) on Saturday night at the Michelob Ulratra Arena in Las Vegas.
Loeffler felt that Bohachuk (24-2, 23 KOs) had done more than enough to earn the decision by the two knockdowns he scored over Vergil in rounds one and eight, in addition to the nonstop pressure that he was putting on the challenger.
Questionable Scoring
Two judges scored the fight for Vergil Jr. by scores 113-113, 114-112, and 114-112.
As Loeffler points out, he saw it as a clear win for Bohachuk, and everything he’s read on social media in the immediate aftermath of the fight tonight affirms his view that his guy won.
Ortiz Jr., 26, looked beaten up at the end, scoring a bloody and badly swollen nose, and a cut over his left eye. Both of Vergil Jr’s cheeks were red and swollen from the many heavy shots that Bohachuk had landed in the fight.
Ortiz Jr. was out-punched and had to switch to plan B by boxing in rounds 9 through 12 to keep from getting knocked out by Bohachuk.
“Hometown Decisions Need to Stop”
“Vergil Ortiz Jr. did show he’s a true warrior going twelve rounds with Serhii Bohachuk,” said Tom Loeffler at the post-fight press conference following his fighter, Bohachuk’s controversial loss to Vergil Ortiz Jr. on Saturday night.
“We’re going to go back to the hotel and celebrate because Serhii knows he’s the champion. This is one of the candidates for the Fight for the Year. These hometown decisions need to stop. It’s for the good of the sport,” said Loeffler.
If a rematch could happen between Vergil and Bohachuk, it would be for the best because there are too many unhappy fans about the contest results. It would look bad on Vergil Jr’s part if he treated his decision win as confirmation that he had won in the eyes of the fans because many felt he lost.
“If one judge had it a draw, then Bohashuk should keep his title,” said Loeffler. “If you look at social media, his value went up tremendously, as if he still kept his title. His Excellency came up after the fight, saying he wants him [Bohachuk] on one of his future shows.”
His Excellency can make a second fight between Vergil Jr and Bohachuk happen. It would be great for one of his events in Riyadh Season. It would be up to Vergil if he wants to fight Bohachuk again because he might feel like he doesn’t want to press his luck for a second fight.
Rematch Calls and WBC Support
Mauricio Sulaiman of the WBC said he’s going to support Bohachuk 100% as if he’s still their champion,” said Loeffler. “So, his stock went up. Naturally, Vergil Ortiz’s stock went up a lot, but we don’t agree with the decision.”
If WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman orders a rematch, Vergil might be motivated to fight Bohachuk again. However, if he’s still holding out hope that a fight with Terence Crawford will happen, he might not want to risk a rematch.
“Every text that I got and everything I read on social media says Bohachuk won that fight. So, for us, we feel he’s still a champion and won that fight and should still be considered the champion,” said Loeffler.
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