Serhii Bohachuk’s promoter, Tom Loeffler, is reportedly hoping to set him up for a big fight against Vergil Ortiz Jr., the winner of Sebastian Fundora vs. Tim Tszyu 2, or IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev next.
Bohachuk’s Big Fight Hopes
The former WBC interim 154-lb champion Bohachuk (26-2, 24 KOs) wants to fight one of those above names on the September 13th Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford undercard in Las Vegas. None of those fighters will be available to fight Bohachuk in September.
Turki’s Undercard Mandate
However, Turki Alalshikh said he wants to fill the undercard with prospects. He said he wants to “load the undercard with young, hungry fighters who deserve the chance to perform under the bright lights.”
#1 WBC-ranked junior middleweight contender Bohachuk, 30, doesn’t fit Turki’s description of “young” fighter. Still, he’s certainly “hungry” and deserving of being on the Canelo-Crawford undercard, provided he’s matched against a name fighter like Vergil, Tzyu, or Fundora.
“We’re looking to give Bohachuk a big fight in the fall. Fundora, Tszyu, Ortiz, or Bakhram are all great names and opponents for Bohachuk. Serhii doesn’t care who he fights because he believes he’s the best in the division,” said promoter Tom Loeffler to The Ring.
WBC 154-lb champion Fundora is defending against Tszyu next month on July 19th in their rematch in Las Vegas. It would be too quick a turnaround for the winner of that fight to come back two months later to face a slugger like Bohachuk on the Canelo vs. Crawford card in September. Even if Alalshikh were open to the idea, that’s not enough time for the Fundora-Tszyu 2 winner to recover from what will likely be a grueling fight.
The IBF ordered Bohachuk to begin negotiations with his mandatory, Erickson Lubin, and that fight still doesn’t have a scheduled date.
Mykal Fox Rematch Needed
Given the controversy surrounding Bohachuk’s last fight against Mykal Fox on May 17th, he should try to set up a rematch with him. Many boxing fans felt that Fox was robbed in that fight after getting the better of Bohachuk in many of the rounds, and appearing to knock him down in the tenth round with a jab.
The referee ruled it a slip, but replays showed that Fox caught Bohachuk with a hard jab as he was coming forward. Clearing up the controversy over that fight would be a good idea for Bohachuk, because he looked awful throughout. I watched the fight and had Fox winning 8-2. It wasn’t close at all. Bohachuk got dominated by the lanky 6’3″ Fox.