After fighting his last bout in Mexico and with this Thursday’s matchup against Brandon Adams landing in Puerto Rico, Serhii Bohachuk may very well find himself the Hispanic champion of the world by the end of 2021.

The Ukrainian laughs, but he is more than willing to let boxing be his ticket to a career of traveling the globe.

“I'm boxing all over the world,” he said through a translator. “For me, it's no different. I'll explore the world for myself. I'm only 25 and the other countries are interesting for me. My heart is in Ukraine, but I'm training in the United States and I love it.”

In the U.S. for four years now, the 25-year-old is determined to not just become a world champion, but a star. That’s why he’s up doing interviews at 9am Pacific time, in camp in California with Manny Robles after a stint with Abel Sanchez, and why he’s been hitting social media hard in the lead-up to his Ring City main event, not just promoting the fight, but getting himself to his first 1,000 followers on Twitter (He’s up to 1,021 at press time).

It’s also a game of catch-up for the Vinitza native, as what was supposed to be the biggest year of his career in 2020 was slowed not just by the COVID-19 pandemic, but his own battle with the coronavirus late last year.

“In the beginning when it just started a year ago, I was very disappointed and frustrated because it would hurt my career, but it's not only me, it's the whole world,” Bohachuk said. “So I understand that, and thank God I'm in good condition right now and I'm ready to catch up with everything I missed during the pandemic.”

Bohachuk did make the walk once before getting ill and being forced to postpone the Adams bout from December to this week, improving his pro record to 18-0 with 18 knockouts with a sixth round TKO of Alejandro Davila in September. And when you couple that with the work he did during lockdown, the year wasn’t a total loss.

“I missed a year of fighting, but I didn't miss a year of improving myself during training,” he said. “The only thing I missed was opponents and fights. My physical condition has improved because I'm training every day, and I feel great right now. I'm working very hard on my training and I'm ready for 10 rounds, even a 12-round fight for the belt. Right now, I'm much better mentally and I'm hungry for the future.”

Going by his track record thus far, that future is bright, because let’s face it, everybody loves knockouts and Bohachuk brings the heat on fight night. Where the power comes from on a fighter nicknamed “El Flaco,” he doesn’t even know, but he’s glad it’s there.

“I don't know how it happened, but I'm just doing my job and they're falling,” he laughs. “That's all I can say.”

He doesn’t need to say much, as his performances speak volumes. But in a nod to his knowledge of the game, he knows not everyone is going to fall, so he prepares accordingly as he begins to make his next step-up in competition against Adams, who went 12 rounds with Jermall Charlo in June 2019. 

“I know my power, but for the future fights, I prepare myself for 10 or 12 rounds,” Bohachuk said. “When I'm sparring, I'm sparring for 10, 12 rounds; the 18 knockouts are in the past. The future could be different because the opponents will be much stronger and much smarter, so for me, it's no different - knockout or go to a decision. The most important thing is to win the fight. I'm ready to fight 15 rounds.”

It’s an old-school nod from the next generation, and in another tribute to the greats of the game, Bohachuk isn’t talking too much about what happens next, just about what’s happening now.

“Right now, I'm concentrating on the fight with Brandon,” he said. “After that, I'm ready to fight anybody else who is close to the belt. I'm not going to even think about the future, because I already have a goal for the belt, so right now, it's one fight at a time.”