“What is this match for and what is the peculiarity of the tournament?”, — write: sport.ua
Bogachuk just lost, and now he is going to fight the Russian. Such a decision was received with doubt Zuffa Boxing is one of the hottest topics in boxing right now. Dana White’s promotion, which should become an analogue of the UFC, but in boxing.
Overall the system is not right for Zuffa Boxing right now. Standing in the way is the Muhammad Ali Law, which effectively prevents third-party organizations from sanctioning fights for their belts. Zuffa Boxing is just such an organization. However, Dayna White, head of Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Entertainment, Turki Al al-Sheikh, and their representatives are pushing for changes to the Muhammad Ali Act to allow them to fully operate.
In 2026, Zuffa Boxing is organizing the second show. In the main event of the Z01 tournament, Callum Walsh won by decision over Carlos Ocampo. In the main event of the Z02 tournament, Jose Valenzuela and Diego Torres will meet. And the Ukrainians will enter the ring before them. Oleksandr Gvozdyk will meet with Radivoje Kalajdzic. And Serhii Bohachuk – with Radjab Butayev.
Bogachuk’s match against the representative of the Russian Federation causes a lot of questions among fans. First and foremost: why? It cannot be said that Butaev is a star, and a victory over him will give Bogachuk a lot. Rajab is not a champion, and he will not bring any titles either. The motivation to “beat the Russian” may not work, and then the holiday will already be on the enemy’s side. So what is all this for?
The promoter of Bogachuk, Tom Leffler, conducts rather strange activities in this regard. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022, when Serhiy was standing at the roadblocks, Leffler threw money at his boxer in an attempt to help. After that, he somehow managed to get the 30-year-old man to leave the country with his family, despite the restrictions.
Subsequently, Bogachuk had a successful year, but Leffler was moving towards fights against Russians – he wanted to make Serhii a meeting with Bahram Murtazaliev for the IBF belt. Togo was intercepted by Eddie Hearn, who made the fight with Murtazalyev to his boxer Josh Kelly.
Leffler led Bogachuk to Zuffa Boxing. This is a promising idea, because Zuffa has money, in particular, with the support of the Saudi authorities. However, it is also ambiguous, because the head of Zuffa, Dana White, is a long-recognized comrade and friend of the Russians. In the UFC, even in 2022, there was no ban on Russian fighters, but only a restriction on going out with flags for all fighters. And not for long.
Now, Zuffa Boxing offers a meeting with Butayev as the first fight for Bogachuk. The only explanation for this fight for the Ukrainian athlete is that there were no other offers, and the promotion set the condition for just such a meeting. However, was it necessary to agree to this? Here everyone decides for himself. Serhiy and his team decided that it was.
Who is the favorite? There are no odds for this duel in Ukraine for obvious reasons – one of the participants is a representative of the aggressor country. However, the question of the favorite is really relevant here.
On the one hand, Serhii Bogachuk, who did not have a good year last year. He had to meet first with the tall and awkward Michael Fox. And then with former rival Brandon Adams.
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Serhii Bogachuk vs. Brandon Adams The first fight, most likely, was determined by the fact that Bogachuk chose a duel against Sebastian Fundora for the belt of the world champion. Fox is similar to Fundora both in size and dueling style. However, the match did not go well – Serhiy almost got knocked down and actually won only in a close encounter.
The meeting with Brandon Adams was caused, rather, by the fact that the American was the first to beat the Ukrainian. In the first fight, Brandon knocked out Serhiy, and the Ukrainian wanted to prove that he had changed. However, in the second fight, Adams did not knock out the opponent, but won quite easily and almost without any problems.
On this wave, Bogachuk approaches his first fight in Zuffa Boxing. And the first match between a Ukrainian and a Russian in boxing since 2022.
Butaev last lost in 2022. Then he met with the representative of Lithuania Eimantas Stanionis. There were many exchanges, fierce moments, but it was Stanyonis who emerged as the winner – by a split decision of the judges.
After that, Butaev entered the ring twice: in 2023 and in 2025. He won both times, but did not show anything special in those matches. That is, boxing was stable, as always, just the opposition is not stellar at all. At the same time, victories are victories.
Who to consider the favorite is a controversial question. The chances look like they are equal. Butaev misses, and Bogachuk can take advantage of this. However, if Serhii will box like he did against Adams, the Russian can also take advantage.
The key here can be the form of the Ukrainian. Because in some battles he shows the standard of endurance. Can hit really, really hard, just not letting the opponent breathe. And in others – to show a spectacle, against the background of which the old Adams and the mediocre Fox look like good boxers. In the case of Brandon, so generally wonderful.
We want to believe and hope that relatives in the army and the general situation motivate Serhiy. And that he will not only prepare perfectly, but also give both strong and quite intelligent boxing. Otherwise, agreeing to this confrontation can be safely called one of the worst and most untimely decisions in the history of Ukrainian professional boxing.