Former WBC interim junior middleweight champion Serhii Bohachuk weighed in at 153.1 lbs, while his replacement opponent Ishmael Davis came in at 153.6 lbs during Friday’s weigh-in for their 12-round co-feature bout this Saturday, December 21st, at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, live on DAZN.
The British domestic-level fighter Davis (13-1, 6 KOs) is fighting at the world level for the second time after closing to junior middleweight contender Josh Kelly in his previous fight on September 21st at Wembley Stadium in London.
Ishmael isn’t the ideal opponent, but according to promoter Eddie Hearn, Turki Alalshikh is high on him; hence, Davis, 29, is being used as the replacement opponent for Bohachuk rather than a top 15 contender.
Weights:
Serhii Bohachuk 153.1
Ishmael Davis: 153.6
“This is a man that fights in slow motion. He’s very dangerous. He doesn’t have the quickest feet, but he’s so good with his timing and how to close that range,” said commentator Sergio Mora to DAZN Boxing, talking about Serhii Bohachuk.
“He has big power, always going for the knockouts. But that power isn’t behind speed. It’s behind timing. This is a dangerous Ukrainian in ‘Flaco,’ and I’m telling you right now. This fight is not going the distance.”
“Ishmael Davis is coming into this fight on late notice. It was supposed to be Israil Madrimov,” said Ade Oladipo about Davis coming into this fight as a replacement opponent after Madriimov pulled out with an illness complaint.
All Weights:
Oleksandr Usyk 226 vs. Tyson Fury 281
Serhii Bohachuk 153.1 vs. Ishmael Davis 153.6
Moses Itauma 249.1 vs. Demsey McKean 251.1
Johnny Fisher 241.1 vs. David Allen 257.6
Peter McGrail 129.8 vs. Lee McGregor 125.9
Isaac Lowe 125.1 vs. Rhys Edwards 129.1
Daniel Lapin 174.9 vs. Dylan Colin 173.1
Bohachuk and Ishmael will fight in a WBC junior middleweight title elimination. The winner will be eligible for Sebastian Fundora’s belt and have a chance to become world champion. For Davis, it would be a Cinderella story if he upsets Bohachuk and then defeats Fundora later to become world champion. It’s not likely to happen, but that would be an amazing story.
