Rebound fighter Israil Madrimov could take the main event spotlight on December 21 with his bout against Serhii Bohachuk in Riyadh. This is a classic definition of an old-school approach by former WBA 154-lb champion Madrimov.
Old School Grit
The 12-round junior middleweight clash between Madrimov and Bohachuk is on the undercard of the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2 rematch at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. Interestingly, fans are more focused on this fight because Israil was added to the February 22nd event. No top fighters in the sport fight as often, especially in tough 50-50 matches.
Madrimov’s courage to pull off this 63-day turnaround between fights is respectable. It’s a shame that other fighters, like Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, don’t want to follow suit.
Israil Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs) attracted a lot of fan interest this week with his fight against WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. on February 22. Former amateur star Madrimov puts the Vergil fight and the massive payday with that fight in jeopardy by facing Bohachuk (24-2, 23 KOs) on December 21st.
Vergil must be nervous about Madrimov possibly getting injured or losing in his fight against Bohachuk. If he needs to be replaced, the likely option for Ortiz Jr. Xander Zayas on February 22. This fight will not attract nearly as much interest, because the 22-year-old Xander has never fought a top-level fighter.
Madrimov vs Bohachuk: A preview
It is not a given that Madrimov beats Bohachuk as he caused Vergil massive problems in their fight last summer on August 10th. Fans still overwhelmingly believe that Bohachuk will get the win against Ortiz Jr. deserved, but was given a raw deal by the Nevada judges in a 12-round majority decision loss at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
Bohachuk’s work rate and heavy power shots damaged slugger Vergil, who was forced to box in the later rounds because he wasn’t in the pocket for him. We have Ortiz Jr. had never seen it laid out before, and it was an eye-opener. Still, Bohachuk looked like he did more than enough to earn the win, but again the decision went to the A-side fighter, Vergil.
Ortiz Jr. vs. Bohachuk Punch Statistics
– Bohachuk: 225 of 832 shots for 27%
– Vergil Jr: 265 of 747 for 35.5%
In Madrimov’s last fight on August 3, he came close to Terence Crawford and would have won if he had thrown more punches. He lit up Crawford with right hands all night and couldn’t miss. In one series, Madrimov hit Crawford five times in a row with right hands to no return. He made the 37-year-old Nebraska native look his age.
𝓣𝓲𝓓𝓬 @IsrailMadrimov#BohachukMadrimov 💫 #OrtizMadrimov#Riyadh Season pic.twitter.com/5BaYA6CeiM
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) December 3, 2024
