LAS VEGAS – Familiarity breeds contempt and maybe that’s what was behind Vergil Ortiz Jr.’s decision not to shake the outstretched hand of Serhii Bohachuk to close their final news conference Thursday.
Ortiz sought to clarify the matter later in the day on “X” posting, “Y’all want me to shake someone’s hand after people on (Bohachuk’s) team have been calling me unprofessional this and that?” Ortiz asked. “I give respect where it is due. Everyone here knows I’m a respectful person. You wanna say I’m unsportsmanlike and switch sides? I really dgaf (don’t give a fuck).”
Clearly, there’s tension. Obviously, Ortiz and Team Bohachuk have a past.
In 2022, Ortiz (21-0, 21 KOs) left his current trainer Robert Garcia’s camp and began training across Southern California at trainer Manny Robles’ gym, where Bohachuk was being trained.
The fighters estimate they have sparred a combined 50 rounds against each other.
Were tendencies revealed? Or was it just practice?
Was it just a more serious form of exercise? Or was a fatal flaw exposed?
We’ll know Saturday night at Mandalay Bay, where Ukraine’s Bohachuk (24-1, 23 KOs) defends the World Boxing Council junior-middleweight belt he won in March against his former sparring partner who is nearing his own title shot.
“It’s exciting. We’ve sparred before. I think we kind of have that … chemistry,” Ortiz said. “Chemistry is a weird word to say, but you know when two fighters don’t know each other, they’ve got to feel each other out.
“I don’t think there’s going to be a feeling-out round. We’re just going to pick up where we left off.”
Bohachuk was far less verbose: “Sparring is sparring. Fight is fight,” he said. “It’s different.”
Bohachuk promoter Tom Loeffler said his fighter gained valuable insight from the sessions.
“Serhii feels very confident from that sparring,” Loeffler said.
And Ortiz also showed some of his hand while training under Robles, the respected cornerman who guided replacement fighter Andy Ruiz Jr. to the monumental 2019 upset over then-three-belt heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua at Madison Square Garden.
This time, Ortiz is only a -275 betting favorite as he confronts those with inside knowledge of his talents and strength.
Robles had Ortiz in camp before his ninth-round TKO of Michael McKinson in 2022, a victory that preceded health woes and the scrapping of his 2023 schedule as he returned to Garcia’s camp and has won two fights already this year, including a first-round, body shot knockout of Thomas Dulorme in April.
“You’ve got to be in tip-top shape – 100 per cent. You can’t take any shortcuts (against Ortiz),” Robles said. “(Bohachuk) needs to be completely focused, mentally and physically. No distractions. You’ve got to pitch your ‘A’ game like in baseball,” Robles said.
It’s possible?
“That’s why we’re here. We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t believe it.”
Experts are bracing for thunderous punching, either in a bombs-away opening or a war of attrition that will leave one warrior standing.
“Neither fighter goes bombs away. They systematically break their opponents down,” Robles said. “You can’t predict when the knockouts coming.
“For Serhii, the best thing for us has been going the distance in his last fight (against Brian Mendoza). Even his one loss (an eighth-round TKO loss to Brandon Adams in 2021) was a great thing because you learn more from your losses than your wins.”
One fact boxing people wonder about is how Ortiz will fare if Bohachuk can take him into the deep waters past the ninth round, where Ortiz has never strayed.
“Every fight is different and I’m sure both of these fighters have prepared to go 12 rounds,” Robles said. “Even though Vergil Ortiz has won all his fights by knockout, I’m sure he’s trained to go the distance, going 10, 12, 14 rounds. I know how he works. Extremely dedicated, hard-working fighter. Same thing with my fighter.”
Robles said Bohachuk learned from Adams to never get careless. He was dominating Adams when the stoppage came, winning every round.
“It was so easy he got caught,” Robles said.
“My guy might deserve more respect … writers, fans see what they see. I know what I have and I’m working with a kid who believes in himself, just like Andy believed in himself against Joshua.
“When a fighter believes, he’s unstoppable.”
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