Usyk - Fury 2. The opponent of the Ukrainian boxer refused to fight and withdrew from the fight

Turki Al Al-Sheikh, head of Saudi Arabia's General Directorate of Entertainment, said that the opponent of Ukrainian Serhiy Bogachuk (24-2, 23 KOs) refused to fight him at the Usyk-Fury 2 show. The grand event is scheduled for December 21 in Riyadh.

Instead of the boxer from Uzbekistan Israel Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs), our compatriot will fight against Ishmael Davis (13-1, 6 KOs) in the main fight of the undercard.

"Doctors have confirmed that Israel Madrimov is suffering from acute bronchitis and is forced to withdraw from the fight with Bogachuk, which will take place on December 21. British fighter Ishmael Davis will replace Madrimov, who will rest and recover before his scheduled fight on February 22 against Virgil Ortiz," Turki wrote on social network X.

Commenting on the replacement, Bogachuk himself admitted that changing his opponent was not a problem for him.

"I have a new opponent now - Ishmael Davis. Now I'm watching his fights, he's a good boxer, but not as good as Madrimov. Will I be able to rebuild - yes, I will. We went through a big training camp, held a lot of sparring sessions with different sparring partners: left-handed, right-handed, tall, short. By the way, I've already noticed that Davis is a more standing boxer, Madrimov is more mobile," Luckypanch.net quoted Bogachuk as saying.

Sergiy added that the change of opponent did not surprise him much, as this happens in big boxing.

"However, I'm in great shape, give me any boxer now, I'll tear them all up," Bogachuk added.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, earlier Turki Al al-Sheikh excluded Ukrainian WBO lightweight champion Denis Berinchyk (19-0, 9 KOs) from the Usyk-Fury 2 show.

In addition to Bogachuk, Usyk's friend and protégé Daniel Lapin (10-0, 4 KOs) will fight on the undercard. The 27-year-old from Kyiv will face unbeaten Frenchman Dylan Colin (14-0, 4 KOs) in a 10-round fight for the IBF Intercontinental and WBA Continental light heavyweight titles (up to 79.4 kg).

On August 11, Bogachuk lost the WBC interim middleweight title to Virgil Ortiz (22-0, 21 KOs) from the United States. 113, 114-112 and 114-112.

Lapin has won the WBA Inter-Continental belt. The 26-year-old from Kyiv knocked out Portuguese Octavio Pudivitra (9-2, 4 KOs) at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

On May 19, Usyk defeated Fury by split decision - 114:113, 113:114, 115:112 - and became the absolute world heavyweight champion.

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