Tonight’s co-fight between Serhii Bohachuk and Ishmael Davis has an excellent chance to top the Tyson Fury vs. Stealing Oleksandr Usyk 2 rematch in the main event at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Bohachuk-Davis: Stealing the show?
Former WBC interim junior middleweight champion Bohachuk (24-2, 23 KOs) was involved in what many believe was the fight of the year in his last bout against Vergil Ortiz Jr. on August 10. Bohachuk knows only one way to fight: attack non-stop. In contrast, the Fury-Usyk 2 headliner might be a chess match and lack drama.
To save the card, Bohachuk and Davis will need to bring excitement to the fans who book the event live on DAZN PPV. The undercard is absolutely awful, and it IS the only good fight apart from the main event. That one might not be a big one if Fury wrestles like a bear and Usyk boxes. Bohachuk-Davis will be a real fight, and is practically guaranteed to be a knockout.
Davis upset Bohachuk?
Ishmael Davis (13-1, 6 KOs) is going to fight more aggressively, knowing that this is his big chance to still be included on Turki Alalshikh’s cards. He knows that if he wins this match against Bohachuk, it will get him another nice payday.
Bohachuk vs. Davis is a WBC 154-lb title eliminator. The winner will be the mandatory for champion Sebastian Fundora. However, they likely won’t get a title shot against whoever holds the WBC belt, as Fundora has a fight scheduled for early 2025 against Errol Spence Jr. will take place, and he can choose to face interim champion Vergil Ortiz Jr.
Still, whoever emerges victorious in tonight’s battle between Bohachuk and Davis will ultimately get a shot at the world title, either in 2025 or 2026.
“I have a feeling this one is going to get going from the first round. Bohachuk is going to pick up where he left off when he fought Vergil Ortiz (on August 10). It might have been the fight of the year. It was fantastic,” Ade Oladipo said DAZN Boxingtalking about Serhii Bohachuk at the weigh-in for his fight this Saturday night against Ishmael Davis.
Bohachuk will force Ismael to fight more aggressively than he usually does because he will be walked the entire fight. Davis uses a three-step drop after throwing shots or when being chased, but that approach won’t work against Bohachuk as he will cut off the ring and force him to fight.
The normal dive and slam that Davis uses won’t work well if he tries that tactic tonight because Bohachuk is good at hitting opponents when they try to grab him. He is also good at fighting while being held. Davis may not last long if he does choose a different strategy in this fight. Again, this is an important fight for Davis, and he needs to go all out if he wants to win. He’s not going to win by out-boxing Bohachuk. That’s what he said he was going to try.
Bohachuk favors
“It’s still a WBC final. This is one of the easier choices. Many people thought Bohachuk defeated Vergil Ortiz. I love Bohachuk in this fight,” said Dan Rafael BetUs. “He had 24 wins with 23 of them by knockout. The only guy to go the distance with him was Vergil Ortiz.
“He has a knockout loss (against Brandon Adams on March 4, 2021) a few years ago. Bohachuk wins this battle. I think he knocks out his opponent (Davis). I think he wins. I think he’s going to show his stuff and put himself in a position to fight for a title.
“While I give Ishmael a lot of credit for taking this fight on short notice and being well compensated for it, I love Bohachuk in this fight.”
Davis is fortunate in not only getting a fight coming off a 12-round split decision loss to Josh Kelly on September 21, but also fighting in the WBC 154-lb title eliminator. If he can win this fight, he will fight for a world title and get a seven-figure payday.
“Ishmael Davis took this fight on very short notice. I think it’s 10 days, if that. He is a British level fighter. He has one loss. He’s not a big puncher. There aren’t any big wins on his record or medium sized wins on his record. I’m not saying he’s not good, but he’s never done it. He doesn’t have much grip, and he takes the fight on short notice,” said Rafael.