Vergil Ortiz Jr. (21-0, 21 KOs) will take on WBC interim 154-lb champion Serhii Bohachuk (24-1, 23 KOs) on August 10th. The fight will be shown on DAZN.
The August 10th event begins at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT from the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
Bohachuk’s Technical Prowess and Experience
There’s still a lot of time before August 10th, so hopefully, Vergil won’t pull out with a sickness or injury, leaving Bohachuk as a last-second replacement opponent.
This is a tough one for both fighters, but Bohachuk has the better skills and amateur pedigree than Ortiz. If this turns into a boxing match, the Ukrainian Bohachuk, 29, should win fairly easily. Ortiz is a pure slugger who focuses on pressure, volume, and his power game.
It’s a difficult fight to predict because Ortiz Jr. has never fought any world-class opposition in his two previous fights at Junior middleweight since moving up in weight from 147 earlier this year.
In Vergil’s two fights at 154, he beat Fredrick Lawson and Thomas Dulorme by a pair of first-round knockouts, and now he’s getting a title shot.
It would have been safer to give Ortiz a couple of step-up fights before taking on a talent like Bohachuk for his WBC interim title, but Golden Boy Promotions doesn’t want to take their time.
If it works out in their favor, it’s good. If not, then it’s a lesson. With all the time that Vergil has messed with his various health problems, you can’t blame Golden Boy for throwing him in the frying pan to see what happens.
Ortiz’s Confidence
“This fight is the fight that solidifies me as a top 154 fighter,” said Vergil Ortiz, Jr. “This is also the fight that shows everyone that nothing has changed: I am still one of the best fighters in the world.”
Assuming Vergil Ortiz Jr. makes it to the fight without pulling out, this will be his third fight this year. That’s impressive, given how much time he’s missed due to his health problems.
Bohachuk looked great in his last fight, beating WBC interim 154-lb champion Brian Mendoza by a 12-round unanimous decision on March 30th.
Mendoza had lost his previous fights against Tim Tszyu by a 12-round unanimous decision on October 15th, 2023, and had been softened up in the process. Bohachuk took advantage of that and beat him.
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