Hearn insists on Bohachuk’s Ishmael Davis-style suits: A ‘tailor-made’ fight?

Promoter Eddie Hearn claims former WBC interim junior middleweight champion Serhii Bohachuk is “tailor-made” for his fighter Ishael Davis in his 12-round support fight on Turki Alalshik’s card at Riyadh Bohachuk vs. Davis are fighting in the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.

Bohachuk vs. Davis

The Bohachuk-Davis fight is considered the best on the undercard, but it might not be if Davis performs like he did in his loss to Josh Kelly and in his previous fights. Ismael is what you call a punch and punch fighter. He lands one-on-one shots, then gets into a clinch and grapples. It’s not entertaining to watch.

Hearn says that while Davis (13-1, 6 KOs) lost his last fight to Josh Kelly via a 12-round split decision on September 21, Bohachuk’s “straightforward” style suits him better and believes can win

The muscular 29-year-old Ismael has a low-punching style in which he follows his opponents around, throws a jab, then a single shot followed by a clinch. Repeat this pattern over and over without variation.

He does a lot of holding and pounding in the clinch. It’s an ugly style. He retreated when he was attacked in a Shakur-like fashion, and fights ended up underperforming due to his movement and constant squeezing. Surprisingly, Davis is being used as a replacement opponent after Israil Madrimov pulled out of the fight. Turki should have found someone to make it entertaining because he’s holding on and moving from Ishmael.

For a PPV card, having Ishmael Davis on the co-feature is poisonous. He has no chance of beating Bohachuk. That’s not even up for debate. Davis would lose to Bohachuk’s last four opponents. What’s important is that a quality opponent is being used for Bohachuk due to the high visibility of the card, and Davis is so awful to look at between the striking, grabbing and moving style he uses.

Hearn says Ishmael Davis can win this fight and become the WBC mandatory for champion Sebastian Fundora. That’s not happening, but you can’t blame Hearn for going to bat for his fighter. Davis can’t win this fight or beat any of the top 15 contenders. His loss to Josh Kelly last September speaks volumes for him. Throw in Ishmael with one of Bohacuk’s recent victims, Brian Mendoza, Patrick Allotey or Nathaniel Gallimore; he is not winning against any of them.

As Davis approached Kelly, he would throw a punch and catch. It was either that or he retired when he was attacked by Kelly, who is not a great puncher.

Ishmael Davis’ ring IQ is not there, and his style is so boring to the extreme. He fights like it doesn’t make sense in his head. He doesn’t think about the ring. If that was Hearn’s choice, he got Turki wrong.

The entire undercard is terrible, but Davis makes it worse. Bohachuk is the only good thing on the undercard, but he’s been compared to a bigger version of Shakur without his skills and more of a clincher.

Hearn’s “tailor-made” claim

“This is another level in terms of this kind of opposition,” Eddie Hearn said Boxing match room on Ishmael Davis who went from a 12-round split decision loss to Josh Kelly to now face former WBC interim junior middleweight champion Serhii Bohachuk this Saturday night in Riyadh.

“Even though Josh (Kelly) is a good fighter, this is a different style (Bohachuk). The Josh Kelly style didn’t really suit Ishmail Davis. This Bohachuk style is tailor-made for Ishmael Davis, but it is worldwide.

“So, I look at it this way. “First of all, it’s a payday you can’t turn down,” Hearn said of Ishmael Davis fighting Bohachuk on Saturday night. “‘Number two, I like the style to to you Number three, you are a quality fighter.

This is a sure payday for Ishamel Davis who will face Bohachuk in the co-feature bout of the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2 rematch in Riyadh. Davis will get a nice payday, but it’s not a fight he can win.

“‘On your night, you can compete with anybody. Number four, if you beat this kid (Bohachuk), you’re going to be mandatory for (WBC junior middleweight champion) Sebastian Fundora, and you’re going to earn a seven-figure payday ( 1 million +).So let’s screw it up. That’s the way I see it,” Hearn said of Davis.

On Ismael’s best night, he can get lucky and win a decision against a fringe-level opponent because he has a way of neutralizing his opponents’ offense by immediately throwing and catching them. With this strike-and-grab style, it’s hard for fighters to land a strike before being caught by Davis. A good referee will penalize Davis if he uses this style all night because he uses it to stop the fight, but he can’t beat a world class fighter like Bohachuk with this negative style.

“It’s not about being brave. It’s about being smart, calculated, strategic, and that’s all in line with this decision (Davis fighting Bohachuk),” Hearn said of Ishmael. “We’re not throwing out an English world champion. Ishmael has the potential, and I think he’s already at British and European level. He’s got the ability and the potential to be a world-class fighter,” Hearn said of the 29-year-old Davis.

“Imagine if he did. He’s against it, but the style. Bohachuk is a straight line. He’s relentless. He’s a very good fighter, but I can’t wait for this fight,” Hearn said.

Davis is not going to win this fight, even with his participation. Bohachuk will nail Davis as he dives forward to secure, and it will hurt. Bohachuk has to be aware of all the holding and fighting that Davis will do because he will have to fight up to his height to get his shots.

Davis will use this style as his main defensive tactic, as he unsuccessfully tried to do against Josh Kelly. Bohachuk is going to hurt Davis with something and knock him out at some point in this fight.