“My future life depends on this fight”: a long interview with Ukrainian boxer Serhiy Bogachuk | Blogs

Within 2.5 months, 5 Ukrainian boxers will hold championship fights. The first Ukrainian to enter the ring will be 28-year-old Serhii Bogachuk, who will fight 30-year-old American Brian Mendoza on March 30 in Las Vegas.

At stake is the title of interim champion of the WBC (World Boxing Council) in the first middleweight (up to 69.9 kg). First, Serhii was supposed to enter the ring against the 26-year-old American Sebastian Fundora. But due to the injury of the opponent in the main fight this evening, Sebastian was “rearranged” in the main event, where he will face the Australian Tim Tsiu. And Bogachuk quickly found a new rival – the experienced Mendoza. Interestingly, Mendoza fought Fundora last year and knocked Sebastian out in the 7th round.

On the eve of the fight, “Champion” spoke with Bogachuk, to whom the native of Vinnytsia told about the boxing business, preparation for the fight and support of the Armed Forces, where his older brother is currently serving.

— Serhiy, how did you perceive the change of opponent 12 days before the fight?

— My task has not changed – it is necessary to enter the ring and win. Mendoza is an awkward boxer and I will have to pass a serious test. But I dreamed of exactly such challenges. Of course, Fundora and Mendoza are very different fighters. I sparred a lot with Sebastian during 2017-2019. We had interesting cuts. Usually sparring lasted 6-8 rounds. Probably about 150 rounds were conducted in total. I think I looked more convincing to them – I imposed a distance on Sebastian. He, for his part, began to “chop”.

— In the photo from these sparring sessions, you, with your 183 cm, look like a schoolboy against the background of the almost two-meter Fundora.

— When I saw him for the first time, I thought, what is this weirdo doing in boxing. Sebastian looked like a “cap”. His height is 197 kg. He hardly puts on weight – he is very tall and very thin. Before entering the ring for the first time, I thought that I would quickly break him. But when the sparring started, I look, it bends a little, but does not break. And thanks to the great advantage in the span of the arms (203 cm in Fundora, 185 cm – in Bogachuk – approx. M.R.) he responds aggressively. It was a shock for me. At first, he couldn’t understand how Sebastian could hit like that. Then I saw that he was using his advantage correctly, “twisting” his shoulder perfectly. It works very well both at medium and short distances. Now I am preparing for the fight with Mendoza, but I do not rule out that in the future I will still enter the ring against Fundora.

— The Klitschko brothers had a traditional preparation for championship fights. Entering the training camp 6 weeks before the fight, 3 weeks of sparring. How did you prepare for the championship fight?

– I’m a little different. I train all the time. I don’t pause. Two months before the fight, I start working more intensively. Sparring more. I have more interesting and high-quality sparring partners. I learned about our fight back in September of last year. Initially, it was planned to hold it in November on the undercard of the Benavides fight, with whom Oleksandr Gvozdyk will meet in June. Then the battle was postponed. In January, it was announced that the WBC title would be at stake. 12 days before the fight, the opponent and the title were changed – he will be boxing for the belt of the interim champion.

$70 per fight

– Sergey, you admitted that you received 70 dollars for your debut fight in the professional ring. Do you have any idea what kind of fees your division leaders American Charlo and Aussie Tszyu, who will be fighting Fundora on your show, are making?

— Boxing business is an interesting thing. There is some variability here. For example, a promoter can pay $50,000 to $100,000 for a championship fight. But if a boxer has a direct contract with a TV channel, he can earn up to 300,000 dollars per fight. And such boxing stars as Kazakh Gennady Golovkin, with whom my promoter Tom Loeffler worked for a long time, earn millions of dollars. From 2012 to 2018, Golovkin had a contract with the American TV channel NVO. And when the TV channel decided not to continue broadcasting boxing, Gennadiy received three offers from the main players in the American market – platforms DAZN, ESPN and Premier Boxing Champions. And as a free agent, he was already choosing the best option for himself. The main boxing stars hold fights in the pay-per-view format. That is, boxing fans have to pay to watch the live broadcast. In this case, the fee will depend on how many fans purchased the broadcast. In 2019, Gennady signed a contract for 2 fights with DAZN. According to the terms, his minimum fee for the fight had to be at least 10 million dollars. But, if hundreds of thousands of fans bought the broadcast, Golovkin earned much more, because he had a percentage of the pay-per-view sales. Plus he had powerful advertising contracts. For example, a world-famous elite alcohol brand paid him about a million dollars a year for Golovkin to be its ambassador. As for the leaders of our division, they are rumored to have earned fees of up to $500,000 in their most recent fights.

— Does the victory over Mendoza open the way for you to reach a new level – not only sports, but also financial?

— Yes, it can be a breakthrough in both financial and sports terms. It would not be an exaggeration to say that my future life depends on this fight. After all, it is not clear when I will get such a chance next time. And will I get it at all?

— I often saw your promoter Tom Loeffler in Germany at the fights of the Klitschko brothers – Tom headed the American office of the K2 promotion company. At press conferences, the American sat on the sidelines and none of the journalists asked him questions for years. What can you tell us about Tom? How many boxers does he currently have under contract?

— About 15. I am the only Ukrainian. Tom is a concrete person. He listens more than he speaks. But when he says something, everything is on point. Promotes his company. I see positive developments.

The older brother is in the Armed Forces

– Do you currently live in Los Angeles?

— Yes, Iryna and I live in a house together with Ukrainians. We remove the top. The wife is pregnant, at the end of April – at the beginning of May we are expecting a new addition to the family. I want us to have at least two children. If I can adequately provide for my family, then even more. I grew up in a large family – together with two brothers.

– Have you and Irina been together for a long time?

– They met before the war. The wife worked in show business, sang in a local Vinnytsia band. There were also English songs in the repertoire, so he knows English better than me. For a while we took English courses here, but with my training schedule I didn’t have time to recover, so we took a break from the courses for now.

— In Ukraine, a full-scale war has been going on for more than two years. Many of our athletes use the opportunity to deliver important messages for Ukraine to a large audience of sports fans during their victories. Maybe you will come up with something during the fight with Mendoza?

– During the war, I fought only three battles. Therefore, I believe that messages from me should go not only during matches. I have to remind American journalists and boxing fans about the war all the time. All time. Even when I am not asked about it, I translate the conversation and touch on this painful topic. For example, when I hear a question about motivation, I say that above all, I am motivated by our native Armed Forces. Relatives are not an exaggeration. My older brother is now in the Armed Forces. He went to fight on the second day of the war. His wife has a military father and brother. A lot of our friends are at the front. I know about what is happening there from personal conversations with our loved ones. This is a very sensitive topic for my wife and I. I always tell American journalists that Ukrainians are a strong and indomitable nation. And I try to confirm this thesis with my performances in the ring. At the same time, we help our military as much as we can. Both informationally and financially.

— If the fate of the war was decided in the ring and it would be necessary to hold 5 boxing matches, wall to wall. Would you agree to enter the ring and which of the Ukrainians would you take as partners?

— If it would change something, I agreed to hold 100 fights. I would take our proven guys – Usyk, Berinchyk. Who is really drowning for Ukraine. Lomachenko? I would not take him to our team. There are better options. I do not understand his position.

— Ukrainians will hold 5 championship matches within 2.5 months. You will start this series, which will be continued by Usyk, Berinchyk, Lomachenko and Gvozdyk. What are the chances of our boys in championship fights?

— Berinchyk will have the hardest time of all. This is his first away championship fight in the USA. The time and climate are completely different here. Denis will need to box 12 rounds with a quality opponent. The boxing evening will be organized by his opponent’s company. You need to acclimatize, find the right sparring partners. But, I think, Berinchyk can withstand it. I hope he wins the fight and the championship title.

Lomachenko has a lot of experience. He will win. Usyk also wins. It’s time for Tyson Fury to retire. He has already sat down. For Usyk, this is the most important fight in his life, to which he went all the time. I think he will beat the British. Or maybe he will shower him with blows and knock him out, as was the case with another Briton, Tony Bellew, in Manchester 5 years ago.

Gvozdyk will have a very interesting fight. I remember Benavides when he used to come to sparring with Golovkin. Then the American was young, a little raw. Now he has become much more experienced. Oleksandr will have to pass a difficult exam. But in boxing, you look as good in the ring as your opponent lets you. Clove can beat Benavidez. By the way, we often discuss boxing matches with my wife. She is deep in the subject.

Maxim Rozenko, Champion

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