Vergil Ortiz, Jr.-Serhii Bohachuk 154-pound bout scheduled for Aug. 10 in Las Vegas
Vergil Ortiz Jr. swings on the scale with his first belt of 2024. Photo by Cris Esqueda-Golden Boy Promotions
It looks like the proposed clash between junior middleweights Vergil Ortiz, Jr. and Serhii Bohachuk there is a date and place.
Ortiz and Bohachuk are penciled in to split 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 focus of the fight.
Bohachuk emerged as Ortiz's opponent after former WBO world junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu withdrew from the fight against Ortiz, which was scheduled to take place on August 3 at BMO Stadium, Los Angeles. Doctors have not fixed Tszyu, as his haircut by Sebastian Fundora on March 30 did not heal well.
A fight between Ortiz and Bohachuk, who rated No. 4 by The Ring at 154 pounds, has been a work in progress these past few weeks. In an interview with The Ring earlier this month, Tom Loeffler, Bohachuk's promoter, clarified that negotiations between the two sides are “still ongoing,” correcting a Boxingscene.com article that suggested the fight had already been signed.
“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 no terms were agreed upon. They talked to us when Tim Tszyu (determined) that he couldn't compete.” (on August 3). See, Golden Boy (Promotions), and I said that Serhii will take the fight. From what I understand, the side of Golden Boy and Vergil Ortiz agreed (i) to fight. Both camps have agreed, but no terms have been agreed upon.
“I think it's a great game, regardless of the outcome of the fight,” Loeffler said. “Both of these guys, all their victories come by knockout. So I don't know how you can get a better match than that. Serhii is the interim WBC (junior middleweight) champion and Vergil holds the WBA Gold title. It's a really good game, if there's any way we can do that fight.”
Ortiz (21-0, 21 KOs), who lives in Grand Prairie, Texas, has been promoted by Golden Boy Promotions since his debut in July 2016.
The 25-year-old last fought on April 27, knocking out world title challenger Thomas Dulorme in the opening round. Ortiz, 26, is owned 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 in Las Vegas, defeating Brian Mendoza by unanimous decision. Bohachuk has won his last six fights since suffering his only career loss at the hands of Brandon Adams in March 2021.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has handled boxing in Southern California and internationally since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. They can be reached at [email protected]
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