Serhii Bohachuk: ‘I Think I Stayed At 154 Too Long’

Originally posted on Fights Around The World
By Abraham Gonzalez | Last updated Jan 31, 2026 2:28 AM ET

Zuffa Boxing returns on Sunday, February 1, live on Paramount+. The co-main features Serhii Bohachuk (26-3, 24 KOs) making his middleweight debut against Radzhab Butaev (16-1, 12 KOs) in a scheduled 10-round bout. Bohachuk, who has fought as low as 146 pounds and as high as 159 pounds since turning pro in 2016, aims to impress those at Zuffa Boxing with a big win at 160 on Sunday night.

It was a little over four months ago that the 30-year-old Bohachuk from Vinnytsia, Ukraine, was in action, losing by unanimous decision to Brandon Adams. The fight was on the undercard of Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford on Netflix, a bout meant to elevate Bohachuk to a big fight if he won. Unfortunately for him, it didn’t work out that way, and he is back to working his way up the ranks again, this time under a new system and weight class.

“For me, in the last fight (against Adams), I was feeling tired,” Bohachuk told FightsATW. “I felt like I cut a lot of weight. In that fight against Adams, I didn’t feel my power. Now that I am in a new division, I feel stronger. I think now I’m much better.” When asked whether he overstayed his welcome at junior middleweight, Bohachuk said, “Yes, I think I stayed at 154 too long.”

While some fighters these days take an extended period of time away from the ring, Bohachuk chose not to wait. He spoke with his team shortly after the Adams fight, and then an opportunity arose. “After that fight, I spoke to my promoter (Tom Loeffler) and my team and told them I want to move to 160,” said Bohachuk. “A few weeks later, my promoter told me Zuffa Boxing at 160, and I said, ‘Yes, let’s go,” said Bohachuk.

After securing a fight date with Zuffa Boxing, all that remained was to fix a small issue that had changed things, but in a positive way for this training camp. The commute to his gym has been problematic, but now that he has resolved it, Bohachuk believes things will be much better for Sunday’s fight.

“It was a little different this training camp because I solved a big problem: I now live near the gym. Before, I had to drive an hour and a half one way and then an hour and a half back. This is much better. I train a couple of times a day now. I think this training camp was much better.”

Bohachuk knows what’s at stake and made that clear when he said, “I need to beat this opponent. Of course, this is a big fight. Of course, I need to win this fight.”

On Sunday night, fight fans will focus on Bohachuk-Butaev to see if the life adjustments he’s made will result in a victory for him at a new weight class. Bohachuk’s opponent will look to make the most of this co-main event, which, on paper, is a 50/50 fight. On the surface, this could be an all-out war, and only the fighter in the best condition will come out victorious. You’ll just have to tune into Paramount+ on Sunday to find out.

This article first appeared on Fights Around The World and was syndicated with permission.

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