Despite a recent loss, promoter Tom Loeffler still believes hard-hitting Serhii Bohachuk can make noise and be successful in the junior middleweight or middleweight divisions.

Bohachuk will face Raphael Igbokwe tonight at the Quiet Cannon in Montebello, California. The 10-round bout will headline an eight-bout ‘Hollywood Fight Night’ card (UFC Fight Pass, 10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT).

At Wednesday’s weigh-in, Bohachuk weighed 158.2 pounds. Igbokwe weighed 156.8 pounds. 

After riding high on beginning his pro career with knockout victories in his first 18 bouts, the 26-year-old faced former world middleweight title challenger Brandon Adams on March 4. After accumulating a lead, Adams dropped Bohachuk in round 8, eventually earning a knockout victory in stunning fashion.

Bohachuk, who is originally from Vinitza, Ukraine and now lives and trains in the Los Angeles area, returned to action July 17, knocking out journeyman Brandon Baue in the opening round. Loeffler is glad Bohachuk is again stepping back inside the ring, especially on Mexican Independence Day.

“It’s great having ‘El Flaco’ (Spanish for ‘The Skinny One’) return (to action) on Mexican Independence Day,” Loeffler told Boxingscene Wednesday evening. “This is a big fight for Serhii against a very tough Raphael Igbokwe, who flew to L.A. from Texas to win.”

Bohachuk is trained by Manny Robles.

Igbokwe (16-2, 7 KOs), who resides in Houston, was victorious in his last bout on January 30, stopping Juan Carlos Rodriguez in round 3. The southpaw has won his last four bouts since losing back-to-back split decisions to Alexis Gaytan in 2019.

In the co-feature, Ali Akhmedov of Kazakhstan will square off against David Zegarra in an eight-round light heavyweight bout.

Akhmedov (16-1, 12 KOs), who now resides in nearby Venice, will attempt to rebound from his last fight, a knockout loss to Ecuador’s Carlos Gongora on December 18. 

Zegarra (34-5, 21 KOs) was stopped in round 2 of his last bout on June 4 by contender David Lemieux. The 36-year-old from Lima, Peru has lost four of his last seven bouts. 

In cruiserweight action, Armenia’s Rafayel Simonyan (9-1, 8 KOs) will face Adrian Taylor (11-1, 4 KOs) of Dallas, Texas in an eight-round bout.

In a clash of unbeaten junior lightweights, Adrian Corona (7-0, 1 KO) of Rialto will square off against Oxnard’s Daniel Robles (7-0-1, 5 KOs) in a six-round bout. Corona is the son of California-based referee/ judge Ray Corona.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingScene since September 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper, He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing