ISRAIL MADRIMOV will go straight into a fight against Vergil Ortiz Jr without having to face Serhii Bohachuk.
The former WBA super welterweight champion had an unenviable task on his hands beginning with Bohachuk, 24-2 (23 KOs), on December 21. And had Madrimov, 10-1-1 (7 KOs), won, it would have left him with nine weeks to recover, train and prepare for Ortiz Jr, 22-0 (21 KOs), on February 22.
After the reveal of the February 22 card – headlined by Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol – earlier this week fans wondered if Madrimov would in fact fight on both occasions. We were led to believe that he would and that there appeared to be no problem on Madrimov’s side despite two tough looking fights in a short space of time.
However, last night Turki Alalshikh revealed on X that Madrimov would not be fighting Bohachuk.
“It was confirmed by doctors this evening that Israil Madrimov is suffering from acute bronchitis and has to withdraw from the Dec 21 fight with Bohachuk. British fighter Ishmael Davis will replace Madrimov who will now rest and recover for his scheduled fight on Feb 22 fight with Vergil Ortiz.”
Davis, 13-1 (6 KOs), will appear on his second successive Riyadh Season card after losing to Josh Kelly at Wembley Stadium on September 21. Davis secured a 114-114 on Kevin Parker’s card, but Mark Bates and Victor Loughlin awarded the fight to Kelly 115-113, 115-114.
In October, Davis was ringside to watch domestic rival Junaid Bostan stop Maico Sommariva in three rounds at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester. Afterwards, Davis joined the ringside interview with Bostan and promoter Eddie Hearn, who all discussed a future all-Yorkshire clash between Davis and Bostan. For now, however, Davis goes back to world level to face Bohachuk on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury in Riyadh.
