Brandon Adams rallies to stop Serhii Bohachuk in Round 8

Brandon Adams stopped Serhii Bohachuk in Round 8 of their junior middleweight fight Thursday in Puerto Rico.

Brandon Adams turned defeat into victory with two punches Thursday night.

The one-time title challenger, face to face with big puncher Serhii Bohachuk, was behind on the cards and slipping on a wet ring in Puerto Rico with time winding down when the tide turned instantaneously.

Adams hurt Bohachuk with a left hook late in Round 8 and moments later ended the scheduled 10-round junior middleweight fight with the same punch, maintaining his contender status in the process.

Bohachuk, who had stopped his first 18 opponents, will have to rebuild.

“Man, I just tried to dig deep regardless of whatever was happening during that fight,” Adams said. “It was me against him. I had to embody that and use all the strength I had to connect on those punches.”

The conditions inside the outdoor ring in Guaynaba weren’t ideal, as both fighters had trouble with their footing.

And Adams was stalked by the aggressive, hard-punching Ukrainian the entire fight, which evidently began to wear him down. Adams alternately engaged Bohachuk toe-to-toe and moved in and out, a strategy that was effective at times.

However, he appeared to take more and more power shots as the fight progressed. Adams, who lost a point in Round 3 for low blows, was down on the cards 69-93, 68-64 and 68-64 after seven rounds.

Of course, that didn’t matter given the events of Round 8. Bohachuk (18-1, 18 KOs) seemed to be in control when Adams rocked him with the first left hook. The second one knocked him into the ropes and down, hurting him badly.

Bohachuk was able to get up but referee Ramon Pena, convinced the 25-year-old couldn’t continue, stopped the fight. The official time was 2:47.

Adams has now won two consecutive fights since he was nearly shut out in a bid to take Jermall Charlo’s middleweight title in June 2019. The Los Angeles fighter stopped Sonny Duversonne in two rounds in December.

Bohachuk had never been past six rounds before Thursday.

Serhii Bohachuk, Brandon Adams make weight for NBCSN fight

Serhii Bohachuk and Brandon Adams on Wednesday made weight for their junior middleweight fight Thursday on NBC Sports Network.

Junior middleweight contender Serhii Bohachuk and former title challenger Brandon Adams made weight for their fight Thursday in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico (NBC Sports Network).

They both weighed 153.8 pouinds. .2 under the division limit.

Bohachuk, a former amateur star for his native Ukraine, has garnered considerable attention by stopping all 18 of his opponents but this is a step-up in opposition.

Adams (22-3, 14 KOs) is a solid boxer-puncher who lost a decision to 160-pound titleholder Jermall Charlo in June 2019, after which he moved down in weight. He’s coming off a second-round knockout of Sonny Duversonne in December.

Serhii Bohachuk (left) and Brandon Adams made weight for their fight Saturday in Puerto Rico. Tom Hogan / Hoganphotos-Ring City USA

The fight was scheduled to take place on Dec. 3 but Bohachuk had to pull out after contracting COVID-19.

The card begins at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT on NBC Sports Network. The undercard fights will be streamed on Twitch beginning at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.

The weigh-in results for other fights on the card are as follows:

  • Danielito Zorrilla (139.6) vs. Ruslan Madiyev 139.6, 10 rounds, junior welterweights.
  • Bryan Chevalier (127.4) vs. Carlos Zambrano (127.0), eight rounds, junior lightweights.
  • Fernando Vargas Jr. (159.8) vs. Salome Flores Torres (162.0), four rounds, super middleweights.
  • Harold Laguna (135.2) vs. Darwin Alvarez (138.8), four rounds, junior welterweights.
  • Jorge Diaz (146.0) vs. Felipe Munoz (143.0), four rounds, welterweights.

[lawrence-related id=18244,18235]

 

Serhii Bohachuk, Brandon Adams make weight for NBCSN fight

Serhii Bohachuk and Brandon Adams on Wednesday made weight for their junior middleweight fight Thursday on NBC Sports Network.

Junior middleweight contender Serhii Bohachuk and former title challenger Brandon Adams made weight for their fight Thursday in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico (NBC Sports Network).

They both weighed 153.8 pouinds. .2 under the division limit.

Bohachuk, a former amateur star for his native Ukraine, has garnered considerable attention by stopping all 18 of his opponents but this is a step-up in opposition.

Adams (22-3, 14 KOs) is a solid boxer-puncher who lost a decision to 160-pound titleholder Jermall Charlo in June 2019, after which he moved down in weight. He’s coming off a second-round knockout of Sonny Duversonne in December.

Serhii Bohachuk (left) and Brandon Adams made weight for their fight Saturday in Puerto Rico. Tom Hogan / Hoganphotos-Ring City USA

The fight was scheduled to take place on Dec. 3 but Bohachuk had to pull out after contracting COVID-19.

The card begins at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT on NBC Sports Network. The undercard fights will be streamed on Twitch beginning at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.

The weigh-in results for other fights on the card are as follows:

  • Danielito Zorrilla (139.6) vs. Ruslan Madiyev 139.6, 10 rounds, junior welterweights.
  • Bryan Chevalier (127.4) vs. Carlos Zambrano (127.0), eight rounds, junior lightweights.
  • Fernando Vargas Jr. (159.8) vs. Salome Flores Torres (162.0), four rounds, super middleweights.
  • Harold Laguna (135.2) vs. Darwin Alvarez (138.8), four rounds, junior welterweights.
  • Jorge Diaz (146.0) vs. Felipe Munoz (143.0), four rounds, welterweights.

[lawrence-related id=18244,18235]