Israil Madrimov-Serhii Bohachuk Tops Dec. 21 Usyk-Fury 2 Undercard in Riyadh

Israil Madrimov and Serhii Bohachuk lost badly one week apart.

Now they are turning to teaching others in hopes of getting back into the win column.

The terrific junior middleweight matchup will serve as part of the Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury heavyweight championship rematch. Both fights will take place on December 21 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Madrimov-Bohachuk was confirmed on Tuesday by Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia.

Before these two giants collide in the Fury v Usyk Reignited match, the undercard will light up the ring,” said Alalshikh. “As there are famous players in boxing entering the ring, these rivals will set the stage for a night that will never be forgotten.”

Uzbekistan’s Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 knockouts) is rated No. 2 at 154 by The Ring. Ukraine’s Bohachuk (24-2, 23 KOs) is The Ring’s No. 6-rated junior middleweight. Both boxers train in California.

The fight will come just over four months after their last bout.

Madrimov dropped a narrow decision to Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) to end his WBA junior middleweight title. Their hits peaked with the Aug. 3 Riyadh Season at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California.

This event marks the US debut in the Alalshikh-led Riyadh Season. Madrimov won his title on the March 8 ‘Knockout Chaos’ card in Riyadh, when he stopped undefeated Magomed Kurbanov (25-1, 13 KOs) in the fifth round.

That win came after an eleven-month layoff awaiting his long-overdue title shot. Madrimov will now fight for a third time in 2024, all at the events of the Riyadh Season.

Bohachuk came up short in a Fight of the Year-worthy slugfest against Vergil Ortiz (22-0, 21 KOs) in Las Vegas. Their battle of Aug. 10 saw Ortiz survive two knockdowns to win a decision in his first career weight fight.

It was Bohachuk’s second straight fight on the cards after his first 24 ended in competition. He revealed Brian Mendoza on March 30 in Las Vegas. The win earned Bohachuk the interim WBC 154-pound title, which he lost to Ortiz.

Like Madrimov, Bohachuk will be entering his third fight of the year.

And the following card is confirmed:

• Romford, Londoner Johnny Fisher (12-0, 11 KOs) takes on late veteran David Allen (23-6-2, 18 KOs) in a UK heavyweight title fight;
• England’s Moses Itauma (10-0, 8 KOs) meets Australia’s Demsey McKean (22-1, 14 KOs) in a heavyweight fight scheduled for ten or twelve rounds;
• Undefeated featherweight Dennis ‘The Menace’ McCann (16-0-1, 8 KOs) takes on Peter McGrail (10-1, 6 KOs) at junior featherweight;
• Fury stablemate Isaac ‘To Bums’ Lowe (25-2-3, 8 KOs) and Lee McGregor (14-1-1, 11 KOs) square off in a battle of British featherweights

Heading into the match, Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) attempts to defend his RING heavyweight championship for the third time against Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs). Their fight comes seven months after Usyk narrowly defeated Fury in their May 18 rematch to unify the heavyweight titles.

The first true heavyweight championship since 1999 saw Ukrainian Usyk hold all the belts for a month. He vacated the IBF belt, which saw Daniel Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) promoted to the list of contenders when he faced and defeated Anthony Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) on September 21 in London.

Usyk still holds The Ring belt as well as the WBA, WBC and WBO belts. He won the WBC title when he defeated Fury, who had held that belt since Febh.