Charles Conwell celebrates sixth-round knockout of Nathaniel Gallimore on April 20 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Photo credit: Cris Esqueda, Golden Boy Promotions
The full undercard has been revealed for one of the year’s most anticipated matchups.
Charles Conwell will continue his bid for a junior middleweight title on the Aug. 10 Serhii Bohachuk-Vergil Ortiz Jr. DAZN undercard. The Ring’s No. 8-rated contender is part of a five-fight DAZN show from Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.
Serving as the chief support, Cleveland’s Conwell (19-0, 14 knockouts) will face Khiary Gray in a ten-round bout. It is the second fight for the unbeaten 2016 U.S. Olympian under the Golden Boy banner. His debut came on the April 20 Ryan Garcia-Devin Haney undercard in Brooklyn, New York. Conwell stopped Nathaniel Gallimore in the sixth round of their DAZN Pay-Per-View-aired fight.
Gray (18-6, 13 KOs) has won two straight since a bad stretch where he lost three of four bouts. The 31-year-old fringe contender defeated journeyman Jimmy Williams last Dec. 9 in his hometown of Worcester, Massachusetts.
Conwell is the No. 2-rated WBC junior middleweight contender. The main title is held by Sebastian Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs), who is not due to return to the ring until later this year.
His younger sister, however, will be back much sooner.
As previously reported by The Ring, Gabriela Fundora (13-0, 6 KOs) attempts her second IBF flyweight title defense versus Chile’s Daniela Asenjo (16-3-3, 2 KOs). The unbeaten 5’9” flyweight dethroned Arely Mucino (32-3-2, 11 KOs) last Oct. 21 in San Diego. She then stopped previously unbeaten Christina Cruz (6-0, 0 KOs at the time) in the tenth round of their Jan. 27 title fight in Phoenix, Arizona.
Kenneth Sims Jr. (20-2-1, 7 KOs) makes his Golden Boy debut on the show. The top-rated WBA junior welterweight contender faces veteran Jesus ‘Ricky’ Perez (25-5, 18 KOs) in a scheduled ten-round bout. Sims has not fought since a May 2023 majority decision win over Batyr Akhmedov in their terrific 12-round clash. The win earned Sims his place as the mandatory challenger to the belt currently held by Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs).
Opening the five-fight DAZN telecast, rookie welterweight Joel Iriarte (3-0, 3 KOs) meets Thomas Guillemette (8-1, 4 KOs) in a scheduled six-round contest.
Iriarte, a Bakersfield, California native, made his pro debut on the March 16 William Zepeda-Maxi Hughes undercard at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Also announced was the full Golden Boy Fight Night: Bohachuk vs. Ortiz Prelims lineup.
Former undisputed welterweight champ and pound-for-pound queen Cecilia Braekhus (37-2-1, 9 KOs) aims for her second divisional crown. She challenges unified WBC/WBO 154-pound titleholder Ema Kozin (24-1-1, 12 KOs).
Braekhus fought to a ten-round draw with then-WBA 154-pound titleholder Terri Harper last Oct. 7 in Sheffield, England.
Kozin won both belts in one shot in a ten-round, split-decision over Hannah Rankin last November 18 in Manchester, England.
In other preliminary action:
- Eric Priest (13-0, 8 KOs) will face a yet-to-be-announced foe in a ten-round middleweight bout
- Johnny Cañas (4-0, 2 KOs) of Santa, Ana, California meets Tampa’s Carlos Otero (2-1-1) in a lightweight affair.
- Jordan Fuentes and Jennah Creason both make their respective pro debuts. Creason faces Kesley Wickstrom (2-1, 1 KO) in a four-round welterweight battle. Fuentes’ opponent was not named for his four-round bantamweight slot.
- Figo Ramirez (6-0, 3 KOs) will participate in a six-round bantamweight fight against a soon-to-be-announced fighter.
Headlining the show, Ukraine’s Bohachuk (24-1, 23 KOs)—now based in Los Angeles—defends his interim WBC title versus Ortiz (21-0, 21KOs).
Bohachuk won the secondary belt in a twelve-round decision over Brian Mendoza. Their March 30 clash at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas marked his first career bout to go to the scorecards. The win advanced Bohachuk to the No. 4 slot in The Ring’s junior middleweight ratings.
Ortiz ended a 17-month ring absence with a first-round stoppage of Fredrick Lawson on Jan. 6 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. He also stopped Thomas Dulorme in the opening round of their April 27 DAZN-aired meeting in Fresno, California.