Serhii Bohachuk plans to return to the ring on June 21 at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California – unless, that is, a bigger opportunity somehow comes his way in the interim.
“He's just looking for another big fight,” 360 Promotions' Tom Loeffler told BoxingScene on Tuesday. “He's going to headline a UFC Fight Pass show in June, but if there's an opportunity, such as to fight Bakhram [Murtazaliev] for that IBF world title, if there's an opportunity that comes up to fight Sebastian Fundora, who he was supposed to fight last year, we’ll take it.”
Some context: Bohachuk, a 29-year-old Ukrainian who trains with Manny Robles in Los Angeles, had an eventful 2024. Bohachuk, 25-2 (24 KOs), made the leap to the top of the division but also saw two big fights fall through. A junior middleweight, Bohachuk was originally set to face Sebastian Fundora last March, only for the fight to be scrapped after Keith Thurman got injured. That set into motion a series of events: Fundora upset Tim Tszyu but didn't fight again in 2024; Bohachuk defeated Brian Mendoza on the same Fundora-Tszyu card last March; Bohahcuk then lost a close majority decision to Vergil Ortiz Jnr; Bohachuk returned in December, originally set to face Israil Madrimov, but Madrimov withdrew due to illness. That set up the last domino: Bohachuk’s stoppage of late sub Ishmael Davis on the Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury II undercard in December.
“Madrimov would still be a great fight for him, even though Madrimov pulled out of the fight that was scheduled in December,” Loeffler said. "That's a great fight. I'm working on putting a big fight together.”
Loeffler also revealed that Cain Sandoval, a rising junior welterweight, would be featured on the June card with Bohachuk. Sandoval, 14-0 (13 KOs), who moved from Sacramento to Los Angeles and is now training with Freddie Roach, has been a main-event fighter in his last few appearances on 360 Promotions cards. He most recently stopped Mark Bernaldez in February.
Loeffler believes strongly in keeping fighters active. If a big fight can be landed for Bohachuk before June, he’ll take it without hesitation. But if nothing else, he is penciled in for that upcoming fight date and can stay sharp until a marquee matchup materializes.
“We're not going to put Bohachuk on the shelf if that fight doesn't come along in the right time frame,” Loeffler said. “He's going to fight on our show. Then we'll see what I can put together for him in the fall.”
Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.