Ishmael Davis didn’t have too long to prepare for junior middleweight Serhi Bohachuk, stepping in as a replacement opponent in the weeks leading up to the bout. their which will take place this Saturday By being the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury II .
But Davis felt he knew enough about Bohachuk to succeed in Riyadh.
“I looked at Virgil. Ortiz when it broke (in August which is when Bohachuk narrowly lost a decision) and I’ve watched some of his fights. I know what he’s good at and I know what he’s not good at.” Davis said in an interview with Boxing News.– “He doesn’t have the best IQ. He’s just a pressure fighter, straight up, coming in front, smacking you in the face, trying to get you out of there. A type of guy, my IQ beat his and I won.”
This will be the second consecutive fight in which Davis takes on the role of a backup opponent. in September Davis replaced the ailing Liam Smith and battled Josh Kelly in a very close majority decision loss.
And Davis (13-1, 6 KO) created a contrast between Kelly, who he called negative, and Bohachuk, who likes to come forward.
“I know I am a better boxer than him. If I use my brain I would have gotten through this fight if I was (stupid) and I was there for him to punch and sit there like everyone else. Most of them respected him too much. Like the (Brian) Mendoza fight (in March), that was really bad for Mendoza (…) he kept running from this corner to that corner to this corner, giving him too much respect. I used to criticize people for that when they gave me that much respect. It will make you more powerful. You can keep pitching and move on. I didn’t respect him. Therefore, he must think about what he is doing. Instead, you can just do what he wants.”
Bohachuk (24-2, 23 KO) is no stranger to facing replacement opponents. Mendoza was not the opponent originally scheduled for March. Bohachuk was supposed to face Sebastian Fundora for the vacant WBC title on Tim Tszyu’s undercard against Keith Thurman when Thurman was injured. Fundora was called to the main event. And suddenly the WBC belt was on the line for that fight instead.
Bohachuk continued to excel, winning a wide decision over Mendoza. But there have been many examples over the years. When a fighter keeps his eye on the future and doesn’t pay enough attention to what’s in front of him. Or hit your opponent too lightly and end up in a fight that’s fiercer than expected, or end in a shocking defeat.
The future isn’t always a distraction. It can also be used as motivation.
For Bohachuk, a win over Davis on Saturday will help set up the bigger fight he wants in 2025. For Davis, it’s his biggest win yet – surpassing March’s decision over Troy. Williamson easily – could mean he gets another chance with another heartbreak Chances are he’ll finally make the most of a full training camp.
