Super welterweight contenders Vergil Ortiz Jr and Serhii Bohachuk have agreed on an unexpected but highly-competitive bout for August 10th at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Bohachuk’s WBC interim title, which he won on March 30th, will be put on the line for this highly-anticipated fight between two of the hardest-hitting punchers in the super welterweight division.
American champion Vergil Ortiz Jr (21-0, 21 KO’s) had been set to fight a week earlier on the undercard of the August 3rd Crawford-Madrimov card, but a cancellation from his slated opponent Tim Tszyu (24-1, 17 KO’s) resulted in Ortiz looking for a new opponent.
He has now found one in Ukrainian contender Serhii Bohachuk (24-1, 23 KO’s), whose ownership of the World Boxing Council (WBC) interim super welterweight (154 lbs) title will allow Ortiz to vie for the title as Bohacuk prepares for his first title defense of the interim title.
It is unknown what this currently entails for Vergil Ortiz’s own mandatory position with the World Boxing Association (WBA), but he will likely lose this distinction if he does win Bohachuk’s WBC interim title―and the same may count for a potential loss against Bohachuk.
The upcoming title fight, which has been confirmed to be promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, could have been a part of the August 3rd LA card, but it appears Golden Boy also understands the value that the Ortiz-Bohachuk fight has, being worthy of having its own stand-alone card while simultaneously allowing other Golden Boy fighters to continue to remain active and showcase their talents.
More importantly, both fighters are taking massive risks by fighting each other at this stage of their careers, all without the certainty of a title shot. While Ortiz had already been in this position when he was announced to be facing Tszyu on August 3rd, Bohachuk is arguably the more dangerous opponent; not merely due to his knockout ratio of almost 96%, but because he is more in-form compared to Tszyu.
Bohachuk’s resume is less substantial than Tszyu’s and Ortiz’s, however, the two remain decently even-keeled when it comes to their fighting experience at 154 lbs, with the slight edge going to Bohachuk who actually faced a top contender in American fighter Brian Mendoza (22-4, 16 KO’s) as opposed to Ortiz―who has yet to face a highly-rated opponent at 154 lbs.
The comparable resumes, opponents, and experience of both fighters highly suggest this is a 50-50 fight, with either fighter having just as high of a chance of winning as they have of losing.
However, only one may distinguish themselves as a worthy contender at super welterweight, and perhaps even become acknowledged as the “boogeyman” of the division depending on the winner’s performance on August 10th.
