‘Next boxing superstar’ Vergil Ortiz Jr. to meet Serhii Bohachuk on Aug. 10

Promoter Oscar De La Hoya has confirmed that Vergil Ortiz Jr. will face Serhii Bohachuk on Aug. 10.

It’s a mouth-watering junior middleweight fight and will take place at the Michelob Arena in Las Vegas with Bohachuk’s WBC interim world title on the line.

Officials had been in talks a while ago to try to get the contest on the big Los Angeles bill headlined by Israil Madrimov-Terence Crawford on Aug. 3.

Ortiz was originally scheduled to appear on the show at BMO Stadium against Australian Tim Tszyu. But the damage Tszyu suffered to his head against Sebastian Fundora, caused by a stray elbow in their fight on March 30, was not healed in time for him to start training. So while organizers tried to save Ortiz’s spot against Bohachuk, that fight will now top the bill in Sin City a week later.

“That’s going to be a war, and for Vergil to become world champion at 154 and from there, the sky’s the limit,” De La Hoya told BoxingScene. “Vergil Ortiz is the next superstar in boxing.”