Vergil Ortiz Jr. defeats Serhiy Bohachuk via majority decision in Fight of the Year contender

In the biggest fight of his young and recently injury-plagued career, Vergil Ortiz Jr. had an answer to nearly every question that could be asked of him.

Despite suffering two flash knockdowns before rallying in the championship rounds, Ortiz (22-0, 21 KOs) narrowly defeated a determined Serhiy Bohachuk (24-2, 23 KOs) to win the WBC interim title at 154 pounds by majority decision Saturday at Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Two judges saw the fight 114-112 in favor of Ortiz, while the third judge scored it 113-113. CBS Sports scored it 114-113 in favor of Ortiz.

Not only did the exciting junior middleweight pairing deliver relentless two-way action in the center of the ring that should give Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury a run for its money in voting for best fight of the year, but it was the constant adjustments and incredible recovery abilities displayed by both that helped elevate this 12-round contest to instant classic status.

“I felt like I had done enough,” Ortiz said. “I proved everybody wrong that said I was finished, that I couldn’t go up to 154 pounds and that I couldn’t go the distance or fight past Round 9. I read all those comments and it all motivated me. I’m the best in the world right now and I’m going to keep showing that.”

Ortiz, a 26-year-old Dallas native, returned to the ring twice for knockouts after being inactive for nearly two years due to injury and illness to set up a comeback in early 2024. But after landing big punches throughout and using everything from his gas tank to his recovery skills to violently outclass the equally iron-chinned Bohachuk, Ortiz acknowledged his critics pushed him toward success.

“As much as I want to say that people’s opinions don’t matter, they do,” Ortiz said. “I fight for the fans and it’s exciting for the crowd to watch me fight. I take people’s opinions into consideration, but at the end of the day, I just go out there and work hard.”

According to CompuBox, despite landing more punches over the 12 rounds, Bohachuk outlanded by a margin of 265 to 225. Ortiz also landed 43% of his power shots and had a huge edge (101 to 32) in body shots.

But in an extremely close fight where every point mattered, Bohachuk made a strong case for the decision via two knockdowns.

Ortiz fell to the canvas in Round 1 when a sharp right hand struck his ear. Initially, it was ruled a slip by referee Harvey Dock, but then the California State Athletics Commission, which has the ability to use instant replays, ruled it a knockdown midway through the bout.

“I don’t think he should have gotten the knockdown,” Ortiz said. “The second one, for sure. But the first one, I thought I hit his leg or something but I can’t make any excuses.”

Bohachuk, 29, of Ukraine, relied on his jab and a sneaky right uppercut to take the lead in the middle rounds, only to be interrupted by a knockdown on a short left hook in Round 8. But Ortiz immediately got to his feet and came back to hurt Bohachuk with a right hand that will likely be remembered as a strong fight of the year contender.

All three judges scored the rounds 10-8 in favor of Bohachuk, including two rounds in which he scored knockdowns. But judges Steve Weisfeld and Max Deluca, who each scored eight of the 12 rounds for Ortiz, both gave the final four rounds to the Mexican-American slugger to make it a close decision.

“I can say that those who understand boxing after watching this fight know what happened today,” Bohachuk said. “I feel great. I’m happy with the way I fought. I think I won. I suffered two knockdowns, I mean, come on guys?”

Ortiz hurt Bohachuk in the final two rounds, suffering small cuts under his nose and right eye. But despite suffering heavy blows, Bohachuk did not give up on his feet.

A win could earn Ortiz a chance to face undefeated Terence Crawford, who won the WBO title at 154 pounds by beating Israel Madrimov last week. It’s a fight that Turki Alalshikih and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who sponsored Saturday’s Golden Boy fight card and have invested a huge amount of money in the sport, are eager to make happen.

“Let’s do it man. I’m up for the challenge,” Ortiz said. “I think Bud is probably No. 1 pound-for-pound in the world and I want to show that I have what it takes to beat him.”