Above: Based on the quality of Vergil Ortiz-Serhii Bohachuk, a rematch could be huge. (Photo by Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy/Getty Images)

GIVE US MORE AT 154

The junior middleweight division took center stage on back-to-back weekends in early August. 

Terence Crawford challenged WBA titleholder Israil Madrimov on August 3 in Los Angeles. The future hall of famer entered the bout rated No. 3 in The Ring’s pound-for-pound rankings. Madrimov was The Ring’s No. 3-rated junior middleweight at the time.

One week later, former welterweight contender Vergil Ortiz Jr. tossed his hat into the 154-pound arena by taking on fellow soul-taker Serhii Bohachuk in Las Vegas. Bohachuk entered the bout as The Ring’s No. 5-rated junior middleweight.

Oddsmakers viewed Madrimov and Bohachuk as considerable underdogs, which made me think they hadn’t viewed enough of their fights.  

Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) won a competitive unanimous decision in what was mainly a tactical battle, while Ortiz (22-0, 21 KOs) earned a hard-fought majority decision in a brutal Fight of the Year candidate. 

My takeaways on both matchups:

Crawford, who earned legitimately close scores of 116-112 and 115-113 (twice), received some criticism for not being more dominant against the comparatively inexperienced Uzbekistan native, who only had 11 pro bouts under his belt.

Crawford’s approach to fighting Madrimov was more conservative than some expected, but that’s largely due to Crawford’s respect for a formidable opponent. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

While I expected Crawford to outpoint Madrimov more decisively than he did – and maybe score a knockdown or two – I couldn’t give him too hard a time for the way he boxed.

The way I see it, Bud, who was making his junior middleweight debut (his fourth weight class), simply faced a tough nut with a difficult style. Awkward physical specimens can give even the greatest fighters of all time hell.

Madrimov was a different kind of fighter who required a different kind of strategy. (Photo by Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing/Getty Images)

The prime middleweight version of Sugar Ray Robinson struggled mightily with Randy Turpin, going 1-1 with the British standout in back-to-back title bouts in 1951. Muhammad Ali was fortunate to go 2-1 with Ken Norton in their trilogy because many observers believe The Fighting Marine won all three distance bouts. 

Crawford carried an 11-bout KO streak into the Madrimov fight, which likely helped to create unrealistic expectations of the 36-year-old Nebraskan. 

Bud had beaten down and stopped an assortment of formidable opponents – including the pound-for-pound-rated Errol Spence, formidable contenders like Shawn Porter and Egidijus Kavaliauskas, and respected veterans Amir Khan and Kell Brook – but Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs) was a different animal from all 11 of his previous opponents. 

Put Crawford in with risk-taking young gunslingers like Ortiz, Bohachuk, Sebastican Fundora and Tim Tszyu, and I guarantee we’ll witness the surgical badass we all know and love.

The 29-year-old former amateur standout is more athletic than the tough-but-limited likes of John Molina Jr., Jeff Horn, Jose Benavidez Jr. and David Avanesyan; he’s just as awkward as Porter, Horn and Felix Diaz, but more nimble and balanced; and way more durable than Julius Indongo. 

And unlike Brook and Khan, Madrimov is in his prime. 

Stylewise, he’s the antithesis of the aggressive boxers and pressure fighters that Crawford was accustomed to fighting (and who were tailor-made for his elite counterpunching). “The Dream” was patient and cautious to a fault against Crawford. 

If CompuBox counted feints, Madrimov would have broken the record. 

Some think Crawford’s age and inactivity (he’s been a once-a-year fighter since 2020) are catching up to him.

Ortiz attacks Bohachuk’s midsection. (Photo by Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy/Getty Images)

Although I wish he was more active, I’m not convinced he’s slowing down. He may have reached his physical ceiling at 154 pounds, but I believe he’s still on top of his game.

Put him in with risk-taking young gunslingers like Ortiz, Bohachuk, Sebastican Fundora and Tim Tszyu, and I guarantee we’ll witness the surgical badass we all know and love.

However, as you’ll read in this issue’s cover story, Crawford is still hunting much bigger game.

Good luck to him in that endeavor, but my interest remains in the 154-pound division.

So, on to Ortiz-Bohachuk, which was right at home at the Mandalay Bay.

That arena inside the popular casino resort – formerly known as the Event Center and now called the Michelob Ultra Arena – holds a special place in my heart.

It was home to the biggest fights and brightest talents of the first half of the 2000s. With HouseOfBoxing.com/MaxBoxing.com colleague Steve Kim by my side, I witnessed the greatest fights, KOs and upsets of the decade.

I was there for the Mandalay Bay’s first boxing event in May 1999, which was headlined by Oscar De La Hoya’s WBC welterweight title defense against Oba Carr. The talented and gutsy challenger was managed by Tom Loeffler, who now promotes Bohachuk. A quarter century later, Tom and Oscar, who promotes Ortiz, are still making fan-friendly fights.  

The Event Center hosted the Fight of the Year three times by the middle of the 2000s: 

• Paulie Ayala-Johnny Tapia I (1999), which featured non-stop action during a brilliant clash of styles (Paulie’s pressure and volume punching vs. Johnny’s aggressive boxing)
• Erik Morales-Marco Antonio Barrera I (2000), which had just as much sustained punching as Ayala-Tapia but with more power and a lot more hate. ¡Viva México, cabrones!
• Diego Corrales-Jose Luis Castillo I (2005), hands down the Fight of the Decade (and still the frontrunner for Fight of the Century); brutality, drama and valor that defies description (so just go and watch it on YouTube if you’ve never seen it).

Ortiz and Bohachuk did their best to emulate Corrales-Castillo I; Ortiz played the role of the dearly departed Chico, while Bohachuk did a decent impersonation of the grossly underrated Castillo. They fell short, of course, but the 5,000-6,000 fans inside the Michelob Ultra Arena were treated to a legit 12-round war. 

It should be noted that both Barrera-Morales I and Corrales-Castillo I took place in front of the same size crowds. They were hardcore matchups that only hardcore fans were aware of prior to the fireworks in the ring. However, the rematches filled much bigger arenas (Morales-Barrera II was held in the MGM Grand Garden Arena, while the Thomas & Mack Center hosted Corrales-Castillo II.) 

Castillo (left) and Corrales gave us the classic of all classics, but it took a terrible toll on them. (Photo by Eric Jamison/Associated Press)

There’s no doubt in my mind that an Ortiz-Bohachuk rematch could put 17,000-18,000 butts in the seats of the Grand Garden or T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas or the Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center) in Los Angeles. 

But as much as I want to see it, for the sake of the fighters, I hope Oscar and Tom wait at least 12-to-18 months before giving us bloodthirsty ghouls what we want. 

It was a grievous mistake to stage the Corrales-Castillo rematch only five months after their battle for the ages. Neither fighter was the same after 2005. Corrales never won again after his dramatic triumph in the first bout. Castillo may have won the rematch (with the help of some weigh-in shenanigans) but he was a shell of his former self going forward, quickly dropping from world-class to gatekeeper status.   

I’d hate to see that happen to Ortiz and Bohachuk. 

They should take the Barrera-Morales route. The Mexican rivals fought three times, delivering an all-time great trilogy, but they were smart to skip a year between their bouts. The hall of famers also went up in weight with each bout (122 for the first bout, 126 for the rematch and 130 for the rubber match).

Maybe Oritz and Bohachuk can “see other people” in 2025 before reuniting at middleweight sometime in 2026.

HIS EXCELLENCY’S 10-BOUT CHALLENGE

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Crawford-Madrimov and Bohachuk-Ortiz wouldn’t have happened without His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi Arabian power broker with deep pockets and a deep love for boxing.

Turki Alalshikh watches Crawford-Madrimov from ringside. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

He brought together five major promoters, including Bob Arum and Eddie Hearn, to create the massive Crawford-Madrimov PPV card at BMO Stadium under the Riyadh Season banner; and he served as a major sponsor for Golden Boy’s August 10 show.

Not long after Bohacuk-Ortiz, His Excellency posted the following question on his X account @Turki_Alalshikh (currently at 6.9 million followers):

“Suggest for me 10 fight in boxing you want to see in 2024 and 2025” 

On the off chance he pays attention to your favorite Editor-In-Chief, here are my suggestions:

2024

Shakur Stevenson vs. William Zepeda – a classic elite-level U.S. vs. Mexico showdown in the tradition of Barrera vs. Kennedy McKinney or Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Frankie Randall.

Terence Crawford vs. Sebastian Fundora – The Ring’s vacant 154-pound title would likely be on the line.

Israil Madrimov vs. Serhii Bohachuk – a high-risk, high-stakes rebound matchup and a good clash of styles. 

David Benavidez vs. David Morrell – Battle of the best young U.S.-based light heavyweights; the winner would be a worthy challenger to the undisputed championship to be decided by the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol showdown.

Jaron Ennis vs. Eimantas Stanionis – The Ring’s vacant welterweight championship would be on the line.

Junto Nakatani vs. Takuma Inoue – An all-Japanese bantamweight title unification bout (with The Ring’s vacant title possibly up for grabs); if Junto wins, he’ll move to the front of the line in the Monster sweepstakes. 

2025

Christian Mbilli vs. Jaime Munguia – just a good ole fashioned super middleweight slugfest.

Gervonta Davis vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko – The Ring’s vacant lightweight title would be on the line in this classic crossroads match.

Jesse Rodriguez vs. the winner of the Fernando Martinez-Kazuto Ioka rematch – for all the marbles at junior bantamweight.

Naoya Inoue vs. Nakatani (if Junto can beat Little Bro) – hands down the biggest Japanese boxing event of all time.

Doug Fischer is Editor-in-Chief of The Ring Magazine. Got something to say for future editions of “Fischer’s FAQs”? You can email Doug at [email protected].

Follow him on Twitter and IG @dougiefischer.

Follow @dougiefischer

The cover art for this issue was created by Michael Sullivan. View more of his work on Instagram and Behance.