IT might not have been the one-sided display he’s used to, but Vergil Ortiz gritted out a title win at the Mandalay Bay last night, defeating Serhii Bohachuk by majority verdict. The Ukrainian soaked up the kind of shots that have stopped lesser men in their tracks and did everything he could to retain his title.
Judge Max DeLuca scored it a draw at 113-113, while Steve Weisfeld and David Sutherland had it 114-112 in Ortiz’s favour. The winner moves to 22-0 (21 KOs), going the distance for the first time. Bohachuk lost for the second time, falling to 24-2 (23 KOs).
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Ortiz had suffered well-publicised weight issues in the past but looked strong in the final quarter of this bout, making 154 for the first time.
Bohachuk’s right was on point early, causing a delayed first-round knockdown, initially missed by referee Harvey Dock. The left hand was the damage-maker in round eight as Bohachuk again had Ortiz down. Ortiz came back swinging bombs as the bout thrillingly swung back and forth.
The winner could now be set for a clash with Terence Crawford after Turki Alalshikh dismissed a Crawford vs. Canelo fight and made it clear he wanted something different. Ortiz seems keen on a Bud fight, too.