Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Serhii Bohachuk: Picks, Predictions and Odds

Rising star Vergil Ortiz Jr. has a chance to become a world champion on Saturday as he takes on Serhii Bohachuk for the WBC interim super welterweight belt.

Ortiz has holds the WBO international welterweight title and has previously been the WBA gold champion in that division, but Saturday’s bout is the first time he has challenged for world honors.

Standing in his way is talented Ukrainian Serhii Bohachuk, who became the interim WBC champion by outpointing Brian Mendoza earlier this year.

Ortiz boasts a perfect 21-0 record and all of his victories have come inside the distance, while Bohachuk is on a six-fight winning streak and is 24-1 overall with 23 of his wins coming via knockout.

Read all you need to know about Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Serhii Bohachuk on site.

Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Serhii Bohachuk betting picks and predictions

Fight to go the distance - No (-200)

Backing an early finish is a short price, but this is an obvious selection when considering the respective records of these two big punchers, so we may as well use this as a starting point before getting on to who will actually win.

Ortiz has 21 fights on his professional record and has won all of them inside the distance. The 26-year-old has never been beyond the ninth round and his last two victories have both come inside the first.

Bohachuk has won 23 of his 25 fights by knockout and he was stopped himself in his only defeat, an eighth round TKO loss to Brandon Adams in March of 2021. He also had a knockout rate of just under 50 percent as an amateur, which is incredibly rare.

Of the combined 46 fights these two boxers have contested only one has required the judges, making the -200 on this contest not to go the distance look great value.

Vergil Ortiz Jr. to win by KO, TKO or DQ (-120)

This is probably the toughest test Ortiz will have faced, but the Texan can pass it with flying colors by recording an early finish.

Ortiz does have some big names on his resume, having stopped Egidijus Kavaliauskas - who had previously only lost to Terence Crawford - and the previously unbeaten Michael McKinson.

The American boasts both power and precision with his punches and that is an awesomely effective combination.

As a fellow knockout specialist, Bohachuk will probably try to fight fire with fire at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas this weekend and that may well prove to be a mistake.

Ortiz has shown no signs of weakness in his career so far, while the Ukrainian has been stopped before and may struggle to cope with Ortiz’s power. 

Vergil Ortiz Jr. to win in rounds 1-4 (+650)

The best way to get a big price out of backing the clear favorite is the round betting markets and backing Ortiz to win inside the first four rounds has a chance.

Bohachuk did last until the eighth round against Adams, but Adams just doesn’t carry the same kind of devastating power that Ortiz does.

Stepping up to super welterweight has made Ortiz even more dangerous, as his two wins so far at this level have been first-round knockouts.

Admittedly they haven’t been against fighters of the same standard as Bohachuk, but both Fredrick Lawson and Thomas Dulorme are no pushovers and they had impressive records going into their bouts with the Grand Prairie native.

Ortiz has won 14 of his 21 fights inside the opening four rounds and, if Bohachuk does stick to his usual game-plan of hunting for a stoppage himself, he could leave himself wide open in the early exchanges.

Ortiz may only need one chance to finish the job, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a victory for the American inside the first four rounds. 

Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Serhii Bohachuk odds

	Vergil Ortiz Jr.	Serhii Bohachuk
Money Line	-320	+235
By KO, TKO or DQ	-120	+500
By Decision or Technical Decision	+300	+650

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Odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.