Serhii Bohachuk (25-2, 24 KOs) looked powerful and determined Saturday night, destroying Ishmael Davis (13-2, 6 KOs) with a sixth-round TKO in a WBC junior middleweight title eliminator at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,
Davis' trainer pulled him after the sixth round, as he took many hard shots from Bohachuk five and six. By that point, it was no longer competitive, and Davis was soaking up huge hits.
Bohačuk's merciless attack
Former WBC 154 lb interim champion Bohachuk was coming off a controversial decision against Vergil Ortiz Jr. last August, but tonight he was like a shark, attacking his opponent Davis with powerful punches.
Late in the second round, Bohachuk nailed Davis with a short left hook to the head that flattened him. Fortunately for Davis, 29, the knockdown came in the final seconds of the round as he would not have been able to escape had it happened earlier.
The way Bohachuk stalked Matchroom-promoted Ishmael Davis around the ring was Golovkin's. Indeed, he was like a little GGG in that he put constant pressure on Davis, hitting him hard on the inside and not letting him escape for a moment.
In an interview, Davis said he felt Bohachuk was vulnerable on the inside and thought he could take advantage of his close-range fight. Tried it tonight, and it was a disaster.
Bohachuk was originally scheduled to face former WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov, but pulled out due to illness.
On the way to Fundora
It's a shame he didn't stick with it because it would have been much more interesting to watch than tonight's mismatch. Ishmael Davis is a domestically ranked fighter from the United Kingdom. He has only fought a world class fighter once, losing to Josh Kelly last September.
With this win, Bohachuk is now mandatory for WBC junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora. Depending on whether the World Boxing Council enforces it, he will likely fight for the title in 2026.