Mykal “Myke” Fox is no stranger to taking difficult fights, and he will have another against hard-hitting junior middleweight contender Serhii Bohachuk on Saturday at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, California.
The 10-round bout will headline a 360 Promotions card on UFC Fight Pass.
Fox, 24-4 (5 KOs), 29, will make his official junior middleweight debut, though his last fight in November saw him fight at a catchweight slightly above the welterweight limit. Fox is from Forestville, Maryland, and trains with his father Troy out of “Sugar” Ray Leonard’s gym in Landover, Maryland.
Fox, as an up-and-comer, defeated unbeaten 2016 Olympic gold medalist Fazliddin Gaibnazarov in 2019. Then, in 2021, Fox seemed to outpoint Gabriel Maestre thanks to a sound performance and a knockdown, only for one of the worst decisions in modern boxing to award Maestre the win instead.
An opportunity like Saturday’s is what Fox has been waiting for. Bohachuk, 25-2 (24 KOs), is in the mix for big fights in the future thanks to his impressive record and all-action style.
“I’m trying to take his momentum,” Fox told BoxingScene. “I'm not worried about his feelings.”
Fox has won two straight after a career-worst three-fight losing streak, with the Maestre bout sandwiched in the middle. In 2022, Egidijus Kavaliauskas, a former opponent of Terence Crawford and Vergil Ortiz Jnr (Kavaliauskas was even able to hurt both of them) defeated Fox by wide unanimous decision, knocking him down twice. Bohachuk and Kavaliauskas are both big punchers, but Fox went on to explain what makes the Ukrainian Bohachuk unique.
“I think Bohachuk tries to break you,” Fox said. “He doesn't knock people clean out. Over time, he's trying to break you by coming forward. He's always trying to push the pace.”
Fox has never been stopped. He has also been in several high-profile camps, including sparring with Gervonta Davis. Fox talked about the mental make-up you have to have leading into a fight like this. Especially when facing Bohachuk, 25-2 (24 KOs), 30, who is known for not making it to the final bell.
“It's a conversation you have with yourself,” Fox said. “He's looking to bring a fight. The best thing you do is stick to your game plan. Do what I do, if not, you know, we start getting into playing his game.”
Fox is sparring young, rangy fighters in camp to prepare for Bohachuk.
“The biggest thing, too, is that Bohachuk is about six feet tall,” Fox said. “So, these guys are around that height. So, training for the dimensions they fight behind that jab, and they have that energy you have before you turn 26 or 27.”
One of the young up-and-comers who helped Fox get ready for this fight is welterweight Benjamin Johnson. Johnson, trained by Lamont Roach Snr, has stopped each of his four professional opponents in the first round to this point. Fox said that the long arms and good jab of Johnson made him an exceptional sparring partner.
Johnson holds Fox in high regard, too.
“He's a veteran who knows how to use his range,” Johnson told BoxingScene. “He knows what to do. He has a chin, he has got the drive, he has everything. He has all the tools to be a problem.”
Fox, who is promoted by Jeter Promotions, has a strong self-belief that a fight some might be looking at as a tune-up fight for Bohachuk will be a chance for him to steal the spotlight.
“I have been here before,” Fox said. “I know that is cliche. I see what they say about him and everything like that. They talk about what he's done and things like that, but he has to do it to me.”