Serhii Bohachuk’s mind was made up in February 2022.
The junior middleweight contender considered it his duty to join his older brother, Vadim, and several of his close friends in the Ukrainian military. Bohachuk had an appointment two weeks later at the U.S. embassy in Ukraine to renew his work visa, which would’ve enabled him to return to the Los Angeles area and resume his promising boxing career.
Russia had just invaded his homeland, however, and Ukrainian males ages 18-60 weren’t allowed to leave the country. Bohachuk could’ve been excused from military service because he is a professional athlete, yet he is a fighter to his core and didn’t want to leave when everyone and everything he loves were in danger.
A close friend talked Bohachuk out of enlisting with him the next day because Bohachuk could do more good by returning to the United States, making money to send back home to his family and spreading the word among Americans about the atrocities of war. Those closest to Bohachuk wanted him to wear a Ukrainian flag before and after televised fights rather than covering his casket with one.
Bohachuk, 27 at the time, took his friend’s advice to heart. He also realized that if he left his family’s home in Vinnytsia, there would be no one there to protect his mother, Valentina, and his fiancée, Irina, if Russian forces attacked his hometown. There were days when air raid sirens rang loudly six or seven times, though an attack on a shopping mall was ultimately the only direct hit to Vinnytsia.
“A lot of times I thought about going into the military, too,” Bohachuk told Uncrowned. “My brother went the second day [after the invasion]. My two close friends went the next day.
“So it was just me with my mother. I didn’t want to leave my mother. We didn’t know what would happen tomorrow. Maybe the war would start [in my hometown]. Who would take care of my mother, you know? It’s a big responsibility for me. Who would make sure my mother is safe if I went? And my wife was with me. Those are the two people who I take care of. They’re my responsibility.”
Bohachuk (24-2, 23 KOs) today is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The former WBC interim super welterweight champion is scheduled to fight England’s Ishmael Davis (13-1, 6 KOs) in the 12-round co-feature Saturday night before fellow Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) defends his WBA, WBC, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles against England’s Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) in their 12-round rematch at Kingdom Arena ($39.99 on pay-per-view in the United States).
Ukraine, where war continues to wage on nearly three years after Russia invaded it, consumes Bohachuk’s thoughts every day though.
“I’m distraught when I think of how I can’t help my family because I’m working here, concentrating on boxing,” Bohachuk said. “But this is where I can make money and send money to my family, support my family. I can’t change [the war], but I can do this to support my family. I hope soon I can bring my mother to the USA. I’m working for this because I have a daughter now, and my mother has not seen her. I want to get my mother a visa and have her come to the USA.”
Once his visa was approved by Ukraine’s sports minister in the spring of 2022, Bohachuk spent five more months in his home country before he crossed the border into Poland. He changed hotels 10 times in one month while awaiting a meeting to have his visa issued at the inundated U.S. embassy in Warsaw.
An arduous, circuitous journey took Bohachuk back to Los Angeles in October 2022. Through a refugee program, Irina, who sought asylum in Germany soon after the war began, joined him in December 2022.
They got married once she arrived in the U.S. They welcomed a daughter, Kamila, seven months ago.
Bohachuk held the WBC interim 154-pound championship when Kamila was born. He won that belt by beating Brian Mendoza by unanimous decision in a 12-rounder on the Sebastian Fundora vs. Tim Tszyu undercard March 30 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Bohachuk was originally scheduled to fight Fundora, who replaced Keith Thurman as Tszyu’s opponent in the main event when the former WBA/WBC welterweight champion suffered a biceps injury while training.
After defeating Mendoza convincingly, Bohachuk happily accepted an even more difficult fight versus Vergil Ortiz Jr. The young, strong Ortiz entered their 12-round fight with a record of 21-0 (21 KOs), but Bohachuk knocked him down twice and believes he won eight rounds.
None of the judges agreed with Bohachuk’s take. He lost a majority decision — 114-112, 114-112 and 113-113 — along with the leverage that came with his interim WBC belt.
Bohachuk called for a rematch but settled for another dangerous assignment, a 12-round fight against Israil Madrimov on Saturday’s Usyk vs. Fury 2 undercard.
Uzbekistan’s Madrimov, who has lost only a unanimous decision to Terence Crawford in the professional ranks, withdrew from their fight early in December due to bronchitis. Madrimov also had agreed to oppose Ortiz on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 undercard Feb. 22 at Kingdom Arena.
Battling Bohachuk and Ortiz barely two months apart seemed beyond ambitious for Madrimov. Tom Loeffler, whose 360 Promotions represents Bohachuk, nevertheless believes Madrimov indeed needed time off from training because he was sick.
Enter Davis, who has lost only a majority decision to England’s Josh Kelly on Sept. 21 at Wembley Stadium in London. Though a credible replacement on approximately three weeks’ notice, BetMGM installed Bohachuk as an 8-to-1 favorite to defeat Davis, who isn’t as imposing as Madrimov or Ortiz.
“Nobody wanted to fight Vergil Ortiz at that time,” Loeffler said. “Winning the interim title, many fighters would’ve wanted to just make a few title defenses before they took a tough fight like that. Vergil was considered the boogeyman in the division, but Serhii again didn’t care about fighting him. He was very confident going into that fight. Vergil was 21-0 with 21 knockouts and a lot of people were comparing him to having ‘Triple G’-type knockout power. Vergil had never been knocked down in the ring before and Serhii knocked him down twice.
“He arguably won a decision or, worst case, should’ve kept his title [due to a draw]. But that didn’t faze him. He thought he won that fight. And when he had an opportunity to fight Madrimov, who again is one of the toughest guys in the division, he didn’t hesitate to take it. That’s one thing I can say about Serhii — he’ll fight the toughest in the division because he understands that the only way to prove that he’s the best is to fight the top guys.”
Bohachuk hopes a victory over Davis leads to a fight with the Ortiz vs. Madrimov winner. Shots at WBA champ Crawford, WBC and WBO champ Fundora, and IBF titleholder Bakhram Murtazaliev also appeal to him.
The most important fight on his mind, of course, remains the senseless war with Russia that has cost countless Ukrainians their lives.
“I’m very hopeful that the war stops today or tomorrow,” Bohachuk said. “I very much want this. I can’t do anything about it. I understand this. But I have hope. A lot of people say [Donald] Trump can stop the war. It’s very bad. I want this to stop as soon as possible, because a lot of people died, a lot of young people. From my city, from my region, a lot of people 25 years old, 23 years old, they died. This needs to stop.”
