Vergil Ortiz, Jr.-Serhii Bohachuk 154-pound clash set for Aug. 10 in Las Vegas
Looks like the proposed clash between junior middleweights Vergil Ortiz, Jr. and Serhii Bohachuk has a date and location.
Ortiz and Bohachuk are penciled to square off on August 10 in Las Vegas, Nevada. ESPN’s Mike Coppinger was the first to announce the date and location.
A source confirmed to The Ring on Monday night that Las Vegas was the projected location for the fight.
Bohachuk emerged as a potential opponent for Ortiz after former WBO world junior middleweight titleholder Tim Tszyu withdrew from the Ortiz fight, which would have taken place on August 3 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. Doctors have not medically cleared Tszyu, as a cut along his hairline suffered against Sebastian Fundora on March 30 has not properly healed.
The fight between Ortiz and Bohachuk, who is rated No. 4 by The Ring at 154 pounds, has been a work in progress over the last couple of weeks. In an interview earlier this month with The Ring, Tom Loeffler, who promotes Bohachuk, clarified negotiations between the two sides were “ongoing,” correcting a Boxingscene.com article that suggested the fight had already been signed.
“Just to be clear, I did an interview (June 6) about that fight,” Loeffler told The Ring on June 7. “I said both fighters agreed to fight each other, but there were no terms agreed to. They had approached us when Tim Tszyu was (determined) that he wasn’t able to compete (on August 3). They, Golden Boy and TGB (Promotions), had reached out and I said Serhii would take the fight. Serhii agreed. From what I understood, the Golden Boy side and Vergil Ortiz’s side agreed to (the) fight. Both fighters, both fight camps, agreed, but there’s no terms agreed to. There’s nothing confirmed to be on that (August 3) show.
“I think it’s a tremendous match-up, regardless of what show that fight winds up at,” said Loeffler. “Both guys have all their wins coming by knockout. So I don’t know how you could get a better match-up than that. Serhii is the interim WBC (junior middleweight) champion and Vergil has the WBA Gold title. It really is a tremendous match-up, if there is a way we can make that fight happen.”
Ortiz (21-0, 21 KOs), who resides in Grand Prairie, Texas, has been promoted by Golden Boy Promotions since his pro debut in July 2016.
The 25-year-old last fought on April 27, knocking out former world title challenger Thomas Dulorme in the opening round. The 26-year-old Ortiz is managed by Rick Mirigian and trained by Robert Garcia.
Bohachuk (24-1, 23 knockouts), who now lives and trains in Los Angeles, also fought on the same March 30 card that took place in Las Vegas, defeating Brian Mendoza by unanimous decision. Bohachuk has won his last six fights since suffering the only defeat of his career at the hands of Brandon Adams in March 2021.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at santio89@yahoo.com
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