Former WBC interim junior middleweight champion Serhii Bohachuk weighed in at 153.1 lbs, while his replacement opponent Ishmael Davis came in at 153.6 lbs during Friday’s weigh-in for their 12-round co-feature bout this Saturday, December 21st, at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, live on DAZN.
The British domestic-level fighter Davis (13-1, 6 KOs) is fighting at the world level for the second time after closing to junior middleweight contender Josh Kelly in his previous fight on September 21st at Wembley Stadium in London.
Ishmael isn’t the ideal opponent, but according to promoter Eddie Hearn, Turki Alalshikh is high on him; hence, Davis, 29, is being used as the replacement opponent for Bohachuk rather than a top 15 contender.
Weights:
Serhii Bohachuk 153.1
Ishmael Davis: 153.6
“This is a man that fights in slow motion. He’s very dangerous. He doesn’t have the quickest feet, but he’s so good with his timing and how to close that range,” said commentator Sergio Mora to DAZN Boxing, talking about Serhii Bohachuk.
“He has big power, always going for the knockouts. But that power isn’t behind speed. It’s behind timing. This is a dangerous Ukrainian in ‘Flaco,’ and I’m telling you right now. This fight is not going the distance.”
“Ishmael Davis is coming into this fight on late notice. It was supposed to be Israil Madrimov,” said Ade Oladipo about Davis coming into this fight as a replacement opponent after Madriimov pulled out with an illness complaint.