The highly anticipated junior middleweight bout between Vergil Ortiz, Jr. and Serhii Bohachuk has been scheduled for August 10 in Las Vegas, Nevada. ESPN’s Mike Coppinger first announced the date and location, which were later confirmed by a source to The Ring.
Bohachuk emerged as a potential opponent for Ortiz after former WBO world junior middleweight titleholder Tim Tszyu withdrew from their planned August 3 fight at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles due to a cut on his hairline that hadn't fully healed.
Negotiations between Ortiz and Bohachuk have been ongoing. Tom Loeffler, Bohachuk's promoter, clarified in an interview earlier this month that while both fighters had agreed to face each other, no official terms had been finalized at the time.
“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... Both fighters, both fight camps, agreed, but there’s no terms agreed to. There’s nothing confirmed to be on that (August 3) show."
Loeffler expressed enthusiasm about the match-up, highlighting the knockout power of both fighters. Bohachuk is the interim WBC junior middleweight champion, while Ortiz holds the WBA Gold title, making it a compelling fight.
Ortiz (21-0, 21 KOs), from Grand Prairie, Texas, has been with Golden Boy Promotions since his pro debut in July 2016. He last fought on April 27, knocking out former world title challenger Thomas Dulorme in the opening round. Ortiz is managed by Rick Mirigian and trained by Robert Garcia.
Bohachuk (24-1, 23 KOs), who now resides and trains in Los Angeles, 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 defeat to Brandon Adams in March 2021.
Francisco A. Salazar has been writing for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. He also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper.