Serhii Bohachuk Is Back to Waiting for His Big Title Shot

Keith Thurman’s harm withdrawal was simply as painful to junior middleweight title contender Serhii Bohachuk.

Following Thurman’s withdrawal from the WBO title battle resulting from a Sunday training-camp harm, Sebastian Fundora was declared the substitute fighter to face Tim Tszyu within the revised WBC junior middleweight title bout March 30 predominant occasion in Las Vegas.

Bohachuk had been set to face Fundora for the vacant WBC belt that was set to open the pay-per-view portion of the identical card. However Thurman’s harm twist, and his subsequent substitute with Fundora, scuttled that bout.

And though WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman advised Boxing Scene that his board moreover accepted Brian Mendoza (22-3, 16 KOs) to face Bohachuk (23-1, 23 KOs) for the WBC interim 154-pound title, there is no such thing as a tooth to Sulaiman’s declaration that the winners of these two bouts should battle one another subsequent.

That’s as a result of unbeaten and not too long ago undisputed welterweight champion Terence Crawford in late February filed a petition to develop into the necessary opponent for the winner of the March 30 title battle.

Since Tszyu (24-0, 17 KOs) at the moment stands because the WBO junior middleweight champion and the WBC belt is vacant, the WBO settlement takes priority.

A WBO official advised Boxing Scene that the March 30 winner is obligated to battle Crawford inside 120 days of that bout.

There’s one other wrinkle, in fact. The WBO has but to authorize Tszyu’s new bout towards Fundora as a voluntary title protection, although a petition to take action has been filed by Tszyu’s Australian promoter.

The WBO’s place is that fellow sanctioning our bodies can solely listing one champion in every weight class. The WBC lists former undisputed champion Jermell Charlo as its “champion in recess” pending this bout for the vacated belt.

A WBO official mentioned his group expects to rule on Tszyu’s petition inside 48 hours.

“We’d not sanction it as a title protection, and if we don’t and Tszyu loses, then the title is vacant,” the WBO official mentioned.

Earlier than studying of the WBO’s place, Sulaiman mentioned he sought to do the suitable factor and preserve a WBC title battle on the shaken card.

“We all the time help particular circumstances – it’s boxing, something can occur,” Sulaiman mentioned. “All the fighters are in full coaching. So there’s no considerations about their weight or security measures.”

Former welterweight champion Thurman was dominated out earlier Monday with an upper-body harm. He noticed docs Monday and was not instantly accessible to touch upon his situation, his publicist advised Boxing Scene.

The 6-feet-5½ Fundora (20-1-1, 13 KOs), who possesses a sprawling 80-inch attain, was promoted into the potential unified title bout regardless of coming off a seventh-round knockout loss to Mendoza in April.

Like Tszyu and Thurman, Fundora fights beneath the PBC banner.

Bohachuk, promoted by Tom Loeffler, now should watch for his shot on the WBC belt by confronting Mendoza, who was defeated by Tszyu by way of unanimous determination in October.

The chance stays that Ukraine’s Bohachuk would land on the approaching Crawford card as that winner’s subsequent opponent, creating a good greater payday than going towards the Tszyu-Fundora winner.

Nonetheless, as a substitute of being lower than two weeks away from a world championship, Bohachuk now finds himself maybe eight months or extra from that chance.