On December 21, in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, three Ukrainian boxers – Andriy Novytskyi, Daniel Lapin and Serhii Bogachuk – confidently won their matches, which preceded the grand rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury.
Andriy Novytskyi once again proved his superiority in super heavyweight, successfully defending the WBC International title in a fight against Venezuelan Edgar Ramirez. This was his second defense of the belt, and the judges unanimously awarded the victory to the Ukrainian, and two of them recorded the maximum advantage in all rounds.
Daniel Lapin also impressed the public by winning two titles at once: he retained the WBA Continental belt and won the IBF Continental light heavyweight title by defeating Frenchman Dylan Colin. The bout marked Lapin’s first WBA Continental defense and lasted all 10 rounds.
Serhiy Bogachuk finished his fight faster, defeating Englishman Ishmael Davis in six rounds. This victory made him an official contender for the WBC first middleweight title, which is currently held by American Sebastian Fundora.
All three fights became an important part of the undercard of a big boxing night. Thanks to the triumph of the Ukrainians, the world’s attention to Ukrainian boxing only increased, emphasizing its strength on the world stage.
