Serhii Bohachuk W10 Radzhab Butaev... In Zuffa Boxing's chief support on its second show, Ukrainian warrior Serhii Bohachuk battled past Russian rival Radzhab Butaev in a back-and-forth middleweight battle. A former interim champion at junior middleweight, Bohachuk moved up to 160 pounds for a middleweight clash with Butaev and battled all the way to the scorecards to earn a split-decision verdict after ten punishing rounds Butaev seemed determined to command the center of the ring as he planeted his feet and unloaded heavy body shots on Bohachuk early. The Ukrainian took them well and kept firing back, but in the early exchanges it looked like it was the Russian’s shots that carried the greater impact.

 

Butaev continued his aggressive body-heavy attack, but Bohachuk covered up well and started to work behind his jab as he scored well through the round. A stinging right-hand lead snapped Butaev’s head back as he the Ukrainian started to find his range and timing in the second half of the round.

 

Round three saw Butaev switch to southpaw, and he had plenty of success from the left-handed stance as he outstruck Bohachuk through the third frame, then continued in the same vein in the fourth as he landed the heavier shots once again.

 

Bohachuk continued to push forward in a bid to smother Butaev at close range, and, after the Russian reverted back to the orthodox stance, the Ukrainian started to find a home for his punches as he scored with some nasty uppercuts and clubbing hooks from close range. The pace of the fight seemed to wear on Butaev through the middle rounds, and his pace and output gradually started to slow. It opened the door for Bohachuk to push the pace, and the Ukrainian did exactly that as he punched his way back into the fight.

 

By the time the pair reached the penultimate round, Bohachuk looked to be the man with the momentum, while Butaev looked drained, and even needed a little extra encouragement to get off his stool. It was all the encouragement Bohachuk needed as he finished strongly to take the victory via split decision with scores of 96-94 (twice) and 94-96 and send the vocal Ukrainian contingent in the Meta Apex bleachers into wild celebrations.

 

The win sees Bohachuk improve his record to 27-3, while Butaev’s defeat sees his career record adjusted to 24-3 including the World Series of Boxing.