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In the most important fight of his young and recently injury-plagued career, Vergil Ortiz Jr. answered just about every question that could be asked of him.
Despite being knocked down twice in his title fight, Ortiz (22-0, 21 KOs) edged out a determined Sergey Bohachuk (24-2, 23 KOs) to capture the interim WBC 154-pound title by majority decision on Saturday at the Michelob Super Arena at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Two judges scored Ortiz the winner 114-112, while a third judge scored Ortiz the winner 113-113. CBS Sports had it 114-113 in favor of Ortiz.
Not only did this exciting pair of welterweights unleash a two-way action in the center of the ring that earned Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury a spot in the Fight of the Year voting, but both men displayed constant adjustments and an incredible ability to recover, making this 12-round contest an instant classic.
“I feel like I’ve done enough,” Ortiz said. “I’ve proven myself wrong to all the people who said I couldn’t make it, that I couldn’t fight at 154 pounds, that I couldn’t last or go past the ninth round. I read all those comments and they motivated me. I’m the best in the world right now and I’m going to keep proving it.”
Ortiz, 26, of Dallas, returned to boxing after a nearly two-year absence due to injury, scoring two comeback knockouts in his opening fight of 2024. But after landing the heavier punches throughout the fight and relying on everything from stamina to recovery to deliver a violent win over the equally iron-chinned Bohachuk, Ortiz acknowledged that his critics helped lead him to success.
“As much as I’d like to say people’s opinions don’t matter, that’s just not true,” Ortiz said. “I fight for the fans and it gets me excited to hear the crowd come watch me fight. I take people’s opinions into account, but at the end of the day, I just go out and work hard.”
According to CompuBox, despite Bohachuk landing more punches over the 12 rounds, he was defeated by a margin of 265 to 225. Ortiz landed 43 percent of his power shots and also had a huge advantage in body shots (101 to 32).
But in a tight fight where every point mattered, Bohachuk made a strong case with two knockouts.
In the first round, Ortiz was knocked to the ground by a right hand to the ear. Initially, referee Harvey Dock ruled it a knockout, but the California State Athletics Commission was able to use instant replay and awarded Ortiz a knockout midway through the fight.
“I don’t think those two knockdowns were knockouts,” Ortiz said. “The second one was definitely a knockout. But the first one, I felt like I hit his foot or something like that, but I’m not making excuses.”
Bohachuk, a 29-year-old Ukrainian, attacked in the middle rounds with his jab and a wily right hook, and knocked his opponent down with a short left hook in the eighth round. But Ortiz immediately stood up and fought back, hitting Bohachuk with a right hand, in a fight that will likely be remembered as a contender for Bout of the Year.
All three judges scored Bohachuk 10-8 in the two rounds where he received a knockdown. But Steve Weisfeld and Max DeLuca each scored Ortiz eight of the 12 rounds, with both judges scoring the Mexican-American slugger’s final four rounds in a close victory.
“I can say that people who know boxing watched this fight and they know what happened today,” Bohachuk said. “I felt good. I was happy with the way I fought. I felt like I won. I got two knockouts, guys, come on?”
Ortiz overcame minor cuts to his nose and under his right eye to keep Bohachuk hurt in the final two rounds. But despite taking the massive blows, Bohachuk never gave up.
The win would set up Ortiz for a matchup with unbeaten Terence Crawford, who defeated Israel Madrimov last week to capture the 154-pound WBO title. Turki Alashki and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia appear eager to make this fight happen, as Saudi Arabia sponsors Saturday’s Golden Boy fight and has invested heavily in the sport.
“Let’s do it, man. I’m ready for the challenge,” Ortiz said. “I think Bud is probably the No. 1 fighter in the world and I want to prove I can beat him.”
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