Serhii Bohachuk vs Vergil Ortiz Preview August 10th, 2024
Ukraine’s Serhii Bohachuk will be defending his WBC Interim Junior Middleweight Title this Saturday, August 10th against unbeaten prospect Vergil Ortiz Jr of Dallas, Texas. The 12-rounder takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada and can be seen live on DAZN in most nations. Bohachuk won the vacant interim belt via a wide unanimous decision over Brian Mendoza in March. Bohachuk was originally scheduled to meet Sebastian Fundora but Fundora was called in to replace Keith Thurman in the card’s headlining fight against WBO Junior Middleweight Champion Tim Tzsyu and Fundora puled off the upset over Tszyu. Ortiz was last in action in April when he stopped Thomas Dulorme in just 159 seconds.
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Bohachuk vs Ortiz Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Serhii Bohachuk +250
- Vergil Ortiz -325
My Pick
The 29-year-old Bohachuk fights out of Los Angeles, California and makes the ring walk with an impressive record of 24-1 with all 23 of those wins coming by stoppage for a knockout ratio of 95.8 per cent. His lone defeat was by TKO so Bohachuk has gone the distance just once as a pro and that was his last outing against Mendoza. Before that, his longest bout went into the eighth round and that was the one in which he was stopped in when Brandon Adams halted him in March, 2021. Bohachuk was comfortably ahead on all three scorecards at the time after Adams was deducted a point for low blows in the third round.
It’s quite obvious that Bohachuk has remarkable power and he’s had to fight just 97 rounds in 24 contests since making his pro debut in 2017. Before that he enjoyed a fine amateur career and competed in the World Series of Boxing for Ukraine. He was a silver medalist at the 2015 Ukrainian Championships and was a three-time national champion in the under-22 division. Bohachuk stands 6-feet-tall with a 73-inch reach and also has wins over Freddy Hernandez, Fernando Marin, Tyrone Brunson, Alejandro Davila, Raphael Igbokwe and Nathaniel Gallimore. He’s also a two-time WBC Continental Americas Junior Middleweight Champion.
The 26-year-old Ortiz Jr is one of the hottest prospects in boxing right now as he owns a perfect record of 21-0 and can even do better than Bohachuk when it comes to power as all 21 of his wins have come by stoppage. However though he’s fought three times since September, 2021 due to medical issues. His 100 per cent knockout record means he’s also a feared puncher with excellent power. Ortiz turned pro in 2016 and has boxed just 71 rounds since because of that power. Before that he also enjoyed a fine amateur career by winning National Silver Gloves Titles from 2012 to 2014.
Ortiz also won a National Under-17 Crown in 2013 and placed second a year later. In addition, he placed second at the 2016 National Golden Gloves Championships. As a pro, Ortiz has captured the vacant NABF Junior Super Lightweight Title, the WBO International Welterweight Title and something called the World Boxing Association Gold World Welter Title. His biggest wins have been against Dulorme, Fredrick Lawson, Michael McKinson, Egidijus Kavaliauskas, Maurice Hooker, Samuel Vargas, Brad Solomon, Antonio Orozco and Mauricio Herrera and was the first man to stop Herrera.
Ortiz has also beaten the likes of Jesus Alvarez Rodriguez, Juan Carlos Salgado, Roberto Ortiz and Jesus A Valdez Barrayan. Ortiz, who trains with Robert Garcia, stands 5-feet-10-inches tall and owns a 70-inch reach so gives up two inches in height to Bohachuk as well as three inches in reach. Neither boxer has really fought an elite, world-class boxer as of yet, so they’re quite evenly matched and are arguably both taking a step up in class together here.
Prediction…
Bohachuk and Ortiz both have exceptional power as their combined records are 45-1 with 44 Ko’s. This has the potential to be a fight-of-the-year contender as long as they both let their hands go like they usually do. However it could also be a bit of a chess match as neither man may want to open up due to having too much respect for the other’s power. Logically, it would be right to assume that this fight ends in a knockout but going the distance wouldn’t be a surprise either. This is a tossup so it’s going to come down to their chins and will to win. Bohachuk has been stopped once before so Ortiz may have the better chin but it’s no guarantee. This contest could result in any outcome but I give the slight edge to Ortiz as he’s still unbeaten.
A pick-em fight with Ortiz having a 100 per cent knockout ratio.
Play Ortiz -325 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Serhii Bohachuk betting • Vergil Ortiz Jr betting