A clash between former 154-lb world champions Israil Madrimov and Serhii Bohachuk is being negotiated for the undercard of the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk II on December 21st at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
A Fight Worth Watching
Madrimov vs. Bohachuk had been discussed previously as a possibility for the Fury-Usyk 2 card, and now it looks like it could happen. That would be an outstanding fight that would liven up the card on PPV.
“I am informed that a fight between Israil Madrimov and Serhii Bohachuk is being negotiated for December 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, within the Fury-Usyk 2 card,” reports Fernando Sabatini on X.
If the Madrimov-Bohachuk fight happens, it should be an action-packed contest with many power punches. Madrimov, 29, may have learned his lesson from his recent loss to Terence Crawford that he’s got to let his hands go and fight aggressively throughout.
He avoided his usual fighting style by choosing to box Crawford, which played into the Nebraska native’s hands. You never box a boxer. Madrimov had hoped to get a rematch with Crawford, and there was zero chance of that happening. Crawford was happy with his narrow decision win and is now holding out for a Canelo Alvarez payday. That doesn’t look good either.
If Bohacuk is the best Madrimov can get, he must be satisfied. Madrimov said he wanted to fight for a world title immediately against one of the champions at 154, but they’re all tied up right now.
Bohachuk’s Vindication
Former WBC interim junior middleweight champion Bohachuk (24-2, 23 KOs) lost a highly questionable 12-round majority decision to Vergil Ortiz Jr. on August 10th at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
Many boxing fans felt that Bohachuk, 29, should have won, given that he’d knocked Vergil Jr. down twice, landed the harder shots, and pushed the fight in the late stages.
Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs) is coming off a close 12-round unanimous decision loss to Terence Crawford on August 3rd in a Riyadh Season event at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
It was a close enough fight for it to go either way, but the judges gave it to Crawford based on him being the aggressor in the final three rounds, 10 through 12.
Again, Madrimov veered away from his usual style by boxing the older, weaker 36-year-old Crawford rather than using his youth and power advantage to go for the knockout.
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