PROMOTER Tom Loeffler insists that prolific knockout artist Serhii Bohachuk was ready to face WBC and WBO titlist Sebastian Fundora on March 22.

The unified champion at 154lbs was supposed to collide with former welterweight king Errol Spence Jr, headlining an Amazon Prime pay-per-view show next month.

But with Spence extending his hiatus after losing to pound-for-pound star Terence Crawford back in 2023, Fundora, 21-1-1 (13 KOs), will now take on Chordale Booker instead.

The pair will square off at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and while Fundora has retained the same date, his main event slot is no longer taking place on a pay-per-view card.

As it happens, ‘The Towering Inferno’ had the opportunity to enter a far more appealing matchup against Bohachuk, whose promoter claims that his efforts fell on deaf ears.

“I reached out to PBC [Fundora’s promoter] but they never really engaged with it,” Loeffler told Boxing News.

“I have a great relationship with Luis DeCubas and Sampson Lewkowicz, but got the feeling that they wanted to take a lower profile fight after the Errol Spence Jr fight didn’t happen.

“Serhii would’ve been ready [for March 22], but I guess they went down the safer route with Chordale Booker.”

Bohachuk comes off a sixth-round stoppage victory over late-notice opponent Ishmael Davis after Israil Madrimov withdrew from their scheduled clash due to illness.

Before that, the 29-year-old floored Vergil Ortiz Jr twice in a thrilling encounter last August, but ultimately lost a highly contentious majority decision.

Since then, Bohachuk has been clamouring for a shot at Fundora, a fighter he was set to face last March.

The pair’s dustup was originally slated to take place on the undercard of Tim Tszyu vs Keith Thurman, before Fundora was presented with the opportunity to face Tszyu instead.

After replacing Thurman, the 27-year-old emerged from his fiercely contested assignment with a split decision victory, claiming two of the four major titles at super-welterweight.