Serhii Bohachuk says his goal is to go undisputed at 154 after his sixth round win over Ishmael Davis in their WBC title eliminator last Saturday night in Riyadh.
154-lb targets
It may take some time for Bohachuk to achieve that goal, as he will have to enter fights with these three champions:
– Sebastian Fundora: WBC & WBO
– Bakhram Murtazaliev: IBF
– Terence Crawford: WBA
Crawford is unlikely to agree to fight Bohachuk unless he’s loaded with money as he seeks the mother load payday against Canelo Alvarez at 168. He won’t want to risk his undefeated record after the close call he had against the former WBA 154-lb champion Israil Madrimov.
Bohachuk (25-2, 24 KOs) is in position to face the winner of the February 22nd showdown between WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. and fighting Israil Madrimov. If Vergil wins that fight, it will set up a rematch between Bohachuk and him. Turki Alashikh may have to be involved to keep Ortiz jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) to fight Serhii again.
Vergil Jr. beat Bohachuk by a controversial 12-round majority decision on August 10 last summer, and many fans believe it was a robbery. Interestingly, Ortiz Jr. showed no interest in fighting Bohachuk again after that match. Some feel that he does not want to risk being beaten.
The Blue Flame
“Bohachuk is a machine. This guy doesn’t stop punching. He comes forward, and he just keeps punching,” Teddy Atlas said of his YouTube channel, reacting to Serhii Bohacuk’s knockout victory over Ishmael Davis last Saturday night in Riyadh.
Bohachuk is now in the driver’s seat. He just won the WBC title eliminator, and he deserves it. The fans will agree with me; some of them thought he won against Vergil Ortiz. I thought it was very close. I gave it to Ortiz. It was very close. Some people would say he got what he deserved now that he got another shot at a title.
His punches are straight and concise; they are on target. There is no fat in between. It’s hard to counter between them after he’s done because sometimes he’ll stand there for a split second. You can counter him at right back or set him up in the middle,” Atlas said of Bohachuk.
With the win over Davis, Bohachuk is the WBC mandatory for Sebastian Fundora’s belt. He is supposed to fight Errol Spence in the first half of 2025, but it remains to be seen if that match will happen. If so, Bohachuk will be ready to take on the winner or grab the WBC belt if it becomes vacant.
“This guy (Bohachuk) doesn’t throw anything wide. He applies pressure, good pressure,” says Atlas. “You see a flame, but when you see a pure flame, you see nothing. You see blue. If you see another flame, you see red, orange. But when you see a really intense, pure flame, sometimes it’s just blue. Bohachuk is a blue flame. There is nothing fat.
“There is no orange. There is no red. That’s the differentiation between someone who just throws punches and a guy who throws them the right way. His fight, the punches are thrown the right way. He has a blue flame. The fight (Bohachuk vs. Davis) was close the entire time. He dropped Davis with a left hook in the second round. He must be bound as if he were in handcuffs.
“It wasn’t a strong enough takedown, and he (Bohachuk) got loose, and he threw a short left hook inside, and he dropped Davis with it. He kept hitting, and by the end of the sixth round, Davis’ corner had done the right thing. They did the compassionate thing. They stopped the fight.
Look at the belts
“He dropped him because they were actually in a clinch. You don’t see that too often. But when you beat, there is an art to everything in boxing. There is an art to closing. Davis didn’t tie him up quite right, and Bohachuk wiggled his way free. There was still some looseness. If you’re going to lock somebody up, there shouldn’t be any looseness,” Atlas said.
Bohachuk wasn’t held back when he dropped Davis with a left hook in the second round. The two were close, and Bohachuk connected with a left hand he didn’t see.
Ok which of the fights did you like best in 2024.
Btw 2025 will be fireworks. Any opponent is welcome but the goal is for the undisputed champion status.Can’t avoid me forever haha. @TomLoeffler1 let’s go!
— Serhii Bohachuk 🇺🇦 (@SBohachuk) December 26, 2024
