Former WBC interim junior middleweight champion Serhii Bohachuk weighed in at 153.1 lbs, while his replacement opponent Ishmael Davis weighed in at 153.6 lbs at Friday’s weigh-in for their 12-round co-headlining bout this Saturday, December 21, at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, live on DAZN.
British homegrown fighter Davies (13-1, 6 KOs) is fighting at world level for the second time after taking on junior middleweight contender Josh Kelly in his previous fight on September 21 at Wembley Stadium in London.
Ishmael is not an ideal opponent, but according to promoter Eddie Hearn, Turki Alalshikh is high on him; therefore, Davis, 29, is being used as a replacement opponent for Bohachuk rather than a top-15 pick.
Weight:
Serhii Bohachuk 153.1
Ishmael Davis: 153.6
“This is a man fighting in slow motion.” He is very dangerous. He doesn’t have the fastest feet, but he’s so good with his timing and how to close that range,” commentator Sergio Mora told DAZN Boxing, referring to Sergio Bohachuk.
“He has a lot of power, he always goes for the knockouts.” But that power is not behind the speed. It lags behind that. This is a dangerous Ukrainian in ‘Flaco’, and I’m telling you that right now. This fight is not going the distance.”
“Ishmael Davis is entering this fight late. It should have been Israel Madrimov,” Ade Oladipo said of Davis entering this fight as a replacement opponent after Madrimov pulled out due to illness.
All weights:
Oleksandr Usyk 226 vs. Tyson Fury 281
Serhii Bohachuk 153.1 vs. Ishmael Davis 153.6
Moses Itauma 249.1 vs. Demsey McKean 251.1
Johnny Fisher 241.1 vs David Allen 257.6
Peter McGrail 129.8 vs. Lee McGregor 125.9
Isaac Lowe 125.1 vs Rhys Edwards 129.1
Daniel Lapin 174.9 vs. Dylan Collin 173.1
Bohachuk and Ishmael will fight in eliminations for the WBC middleweight title. The winner will be entitled to Sebastian Fundora’s belt and have a chance to become world champion. It would be a Cinderella story for Davis if he upset Bohachuk and then beat Fundora later to become world champion. It’s unlikely to happen, but it would be an amazing story.
