154 contenders Madrimov, Bohachuk to fight in Usyk-Fury 2 co-feature

Alalshikh unveils the undercard for the heavyweight title rematch

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Junior middleweight contenders Israil Madrimov and Serheii Bohachuk will square off in a potentially explosive 12-rounder that will serve as the co-feature of the rematch between unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and former champion Tyson Fury on the Dec. 21 Riyadh Season pay-per-view card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Turki Alalshikh, who oversees the Riyadh Season events in his capacity as the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, unveiled the undercard on Tuesday on his social media accounts.

Madrimov-Bohachuk is the gem of the undercard and matches two of the top fighters in the 154-pound division. Although they are both coming off a loss, the defeats came in close fights against elite opponents and illustrated that if boxers face quality opposition and happen to lose it does not mean the end of their careers.

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Madrimov, who was the WBA world titleholder, made his first defense against pound-for-pound star Terence Crawford and gave him one of his toughest fights as Crawford moved up in weight and eked out a unanimous decision to claim the title and the vacant WBO interim belt on Aug.3 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles in the main event of the first Riyadh Season card outside of Riyadh.

Although Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs), 29, an Uzbekistan native fighting out of Indio, California, did no get the rematch he hoped for against Crawford, he has himself a high-profile bout on a big card against a top foe.

“Madrimov wants to stay on the radar and prove that he is one of the best,” Vadim Kornilov, Madrimov’s manager, told Fight Freaks Unite. “His Excellency (Alalshikh) liked this fight. It is the co-main event of a big fight card and we are looking forward to it. Madrimov wants to make a statement.”

Bohachuk (24-2, 23 KOs), 29, a Ukraine native fighting out of Los Angeles, won the vacant WBC interim title by wide decision over Brian Mendoza in March and in his first defense faced highly touted and unbeaten Vergil Ortiz Jr. He dropped Ortiz in the first and eighth rounds but lost a majority decision in an action-packed leading fight of the year contender.

Bohachuk jumped at the chance to have another notable fight in his return.

“This is definitely the type of fight boxing needs,” 360 Promotions’ Tom Loeffler, Bohachuk’s promoter, told Fight Freaks Unite. “Two top guys in their division willing to fight each other. Serheii did not hesitate to take the fight when it was presented to us. We all still believe he won the Vergil Ortiz fight, which is what His Excellency told us afterwards as well. This is a tremendous co-feature for this great rematch between Usyk and Fury.”

There are also two notable heavyweight fights on the card.

In one bout, heavily touted Moses Itauma (10-0, 8 KOs), 19, a British southpaw with Queensberry Promotions, will take a major step up against Demsey McKean (22-1, 14 KOs), a 6-foot-6 Australian southpaw coming off his lone defeat. McKean took a 12th-round knockout loss to then-unbeaten top contender Filip Hrgovic in August 2023.

The other one will see British hopeful Johnny Fisher (12-0, 11 KOs), 25, a Matchroom Boxing fighter, taking a step up against countryman David Allen (23-6-2, 18 KOs), 32, who has won a pair of low-level four-round decisions this year in his return from a sixth-round knockout loss to 2020 British Olympic bronze medalist Frazer Clark in September 2023.

Also on the card:

• Junior featherweight Dennis McCann (16-0-1, 8 KOs), 23, of England, will face countryman and fellow prospect Peter McGrail (10-1, 6 KOs), 28, a southpaw and 2020 Olympian.

• Featherweight Isaac Lowe (25-2-3, 8 KOs), 30, of England, who is a close friend of Fury, will face Lee McGregor (14-1-1, 11 KOs), 27, of Scotland. Lowe has won four in a row since back-to-back KO losses to Luis Alberto Lopez and Nick Ball, who both went on to win featherweight titles. McGregor has won two in a row by KO since an upset 12-round decision loss to Eric Robles in July 2023. McGregor-Lowe was scheduled for this past December but called off when McGregor suffered a training injury.

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