Serhii Bohachuk says it’s a “joke” for his subsequent opponent former WBA junior Middleweight champion Israil Madrimov to have a struggle introduced 63 days from their December twenty first match-up towards Vergil Ortiz Jr. on February twenty second.
Ignored
Bohachuk (24-2, 23 KOs) feels it’s presumptuous for Madrimov and his workforce to schedule the competition towards Ortiz Jr. when the result of their December twenty first struggle nonetheless hasn’t been decided. Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs) may lose or get injured and would have to be pulled from the February twenty second card.
From Madrimov’s perspective, he clearly wasn’t going to say no to His Excellency Turki Alalshikh when requested about his curiosity in preventing Vergil Jr. on his large Riyadh Season. How may he say no? The cash will probably be good, and he’s not about to refuse Turki. If the shoe was on the opposite foot and Bohachuk was the one Turki requested for, he’d have doubtless agreed as effectively.
It’s a robust ask for Madrimov, 29, to defeat the previous WBC interim 154-lb champion Bohachuk, and get via the match with out struggling an damage. He would possibly win, however what are the possibilities of coming via it with out getting minimize or taking quite a lot of heavy punishment that may require a protracted break.
The best way Madrimov fought in his loss to Terence Crawford on August third, he received’t beat Bohachuk. He bought drained towards Crawford within the championship rounds and allowed the 37-year-old to outwork him down the stretch. Bohachuk is youthful, greater, stronger, and possesses a greater work fee than Crawford. If Madrimov can’t sustain with him, he’ll lose for certain.
“It’s a Joke!”
“No, it’s joking for me. They will say communicate for this after my struggle with Madrimov, okay? And now I seek for my struggle, and you already know, for me, it’s not severe,” mentioned Serhii Bohachuk to DAZN Boxing, reacting to his December twenty first opponent, Israil Madrimov, scheduled to struggle Vergil Ortiz Jr. on February twenty second.
“You’ll be able to plan for the long run within the struggle. No, it’s not soccer. It’s not one other sport. It’s boxing. One struggle can change every part. I can change your profession. For me, it’s not severe. It’s like joking, you already know? It’s a really severe sport. Right here, you don’t know what’s taking place within the subsequent struggle. No, it’s a joke,” mentioned an upset-sounding Bohachuk.
It’s comprehensible for Bohachuk to really feel slighted by Madrimov’s choice as Vergil Jr’s opponent forward of their December twenty first contest on the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2 card. Turki wished to have the cardboard introduced to the general public, and it made sense for Madrimov to be chosen as a result of he’s coming off a high-profile struggle towards Crawford on August third, which was very shut.
That match obtained extra consideration than Bohachuk’s struggle towards Vergil Jr. for apparent causes. Madrimov fought higher in that struggle than Bohachuk did in his questionable loss. He got here near beating Crawford and doubtless would have if he’d let his arms go slightly extra in rounds 10 via 12.
Bohachuk calls Madrimov vs Ortiz a joke 👀#Usyk2Fury | #RiyadhSeason | December 21, dwell on DAZN | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/aHhogchUuH
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) December 5, 2024
“We thought Serhii ought to have received a choice or no less than stored his title, however Vergil is a superb fighter,” mentioned promoter Tom Loeffler to Fighthype, speaking about Bohachuk’s controversial 12-round majority choice loss to Vergil Ortiz Jr. on August tenth.
Bohachuk got here near beating Vergil however let the struggle slip away when he failed to regulate to the motion that he used within the last three rounds. Ortiz Jr. switched issues up by boxing within the last quarter of the struggle, and Bohachuk was simply following him round, not wanting good.
“Madrimov placed on an incredible struggle towards Terence Crawford. He’s one other nice fighter in that division. There are such a lot of nice names you can combine and match,” mentioned Loeffler.
