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Israil Madrimov-Serhii Bohachuk Tops Dec. 21 Usyk-Fury 2 Undercard In Riyadh


Israil Madrimov and Serhii Bohachuk suffered minor defeats a week apart.

They now turn to teaching others in hopes of a return to the win column.

A fantastic junior middleweight bout will serve as the co-feature of the Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury heavyweight championship rematch. Both matches will take place on December 21 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Madrimov-Bohachuk was confirmed by Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, on Tuesday.

“Before the two giants collide in Fury v Usyk Reignited, the undercard is set to light up the ring,” said Alalshikh. “With some of the biggest names in boxing stepping into the ring, these bouts will set the stage for an unforgettable night.”

Uzbekistan’s Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 knockouts) is ranked by The Ring as no. 2 on 154 designated. Ukraine’s Bohachuk (24-2, 23 KOs) is The Ring’s No. 6-rated junior middleweight. Both boxers train in California.

The bout will come a little over four months after their most recent matches.

Madrimov dropped a close decision to Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) to end his WBA junior middleweight title. Their match headlined the August 3 Riyadh Season Show at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California.

The event was the American debut of the Riyadh season series led by Alalshikh. Madrimov won his title on March 8’s ‘Knockout Chaos’ card in Riyadh when he stopped Magomed Kurbanov (25-1, 13 KOs) in the fifth round.

That victory came after an eleven-month layoff while he awaited his overdue title shot. Madrimov will now fight for the third time in 2024, all at Riyadh season events.

Bohachuk fell just short in his Fight of the Year-worthy slugfest against Vergil Ortiz (22-0, 21 KOs) in Las Vegas. Heading into their fight on August 10, Ortiz survived two knockouts to win a decision in his first career distance fight.

It was the second straight fight to go to the scorecards for Bohachuk after his first 24 all ended by knockout. He pointed out Brian Mendoza on March 30 in Las Vegas. The win gave Bohachuk the interim WBC 154-pound title, which he lost to Ortiz.

Like Madrimov, Bohachuk will also be entering his third fight of the year.

Also confirmed for the undercard:

  • Romford, London’s Johnny Fisher (12-0, 11 KOs) faces faded veteran David Allen (23-6-2, 18 KOs) in an all-UK heavyweight clash;
  • England’s Moses Itauma (10-0, 8 KOs) meets Australia’s Demsey McKean (22-1, 14 KOs) in a heavyweight bout scheduled for ten or twelve rounds;
  • Undefeated southpaw Dennis ‘The Menace’ McCann (16-0-1, 8 KOs) clashes with Peter McGrail (10-1, 6 KOs) at junior featherweight;
  • Fury stablemate Isaac ‘To Bums’ Lowe (25-2-3, 8 KOs) and Lee McGregor (14-1-1, 11 KOs) square off in a battle of British featherweights

Headlining the show, Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) attempts the third defense of his RING Heavyweight Championship against Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs). Their bout comes seven months after Usyk’s narrow victory over Fury in their May 18 thriller to fully unify all the heavyweight titles.

The first true undisputed heavyweight championship since 1999, Ukraine’s Usyk kept all the belts intact for barely a month. He vacated the IBF belt, which saw Daniel Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) upgrade from interim title in time to defeat Anthony Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) on September 21 in London.

Usyk still holds The Ring Championship as well as the WBA, WBC and WBO belts. He claimed the WBC title in his victory over Fury, who has held that belt since February 2020. The great Brit held The Ring Championship twice and briefly held the WBA, IBF and WBO titles in another lifetime.





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