HomeBoxingNo Rematch For Bohachuk: Vergil Ortiz Jr. Moves On

No Rematch For Bohachuk: Vergil Ortiz Jr. Moves On


Vergil Ortiz Jr’s father, Vergil Sr., says they’re moving “on to the next” rather than give a rematch to Serhi Bohachuk to clear up the controversy over their fight last Saturday, August 10th, at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.

Ortiz Sr. mentions a lot of demands that Team Bohachuk had made in the negotiations for the fight and says he doesn’t want to “put extra food on their plate” by giving them a second fight.  However, he doesn’t need to come up with excuses for not wanting to give Bohachuk a rematch.

Crawford Payday Ahead

It would have been better if Vergil Sr. had admitted that they’re moving on because of the payday fight against Terence Crawford ahead and not wanting to take a rematch that they might lose. That would have sounded better. Whether Vergil Jr. deserves the Crawford fight or not doesn’t matter. He’s getting it, and a black cloud of disgrace follows him due to his controversial win.

With the Terence Crawford payday looming for Vergil Jr., it makes sense that he wouldn’t give a rematch with Bohachuk (24-2, 23 KOs) for less money and much risk. Vergil Jr. took a beating against Bohachuk and was fortunate to win a 12-round majority decision. In a rematch, Vergil Jr. might not be so lucky.

The judges scored it 113-113, 114-112, and 114-112. Fans have an issue with Vergil Jr being dropped twice in the fight, hurt several times, and appearing to lose six of the twelve rounds.

Ortiz should have lost in the eyes of most fans, and he likely had it the roles were reversed, and he was the less popular fighter visiting from another country. Being popular helps, especially when a big business fight against Crawford is being floated ahead of time.

Avoiding a Dangerous Rematch

Vergil Jr. should forget about fighting Bohachuk again because he’s all wrong for him. Unless His Excellency Turki Alalshikh insists that he fight Bohachuk again, he should stay away from him.

If the Crawford fight happens for Vergil (22-0, 21 KOs), it likely won’t end well for Ortiz because he’s too easy to hit, and he’ll get picked apart by the superstar.