Bohachuk will face Butaev in the co-main event of Zuffa Boxing 2 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas on Paramount+. In the main event, Jose Valenzuela faces Diego Torres in a 10-round lightweight bout. The main card is rounded out by a 10-round light heavyweight clash between Oleksandr Gvozdyk and Radivoje Kalajdzic.

Bohachuk (26-3, 24 KOs) will be moving up from 154 to 160 pounds against Butaev (16-1, 12 KOs) after struggling to make weight in his last fight, a one-sided decision loss in his rematch with Brandon Adams.

The 30-year-old Ukrainian said his struggles on the scale played a role in his lackluster showing.

“It was too hard making weight,“ Bohachuk told The Ring. “My last fight with Brandon Adams was not Serhii Bohachuk. It was another boxer. I didn’t feel my power like I felt before when I fought Vergil Ortiz and everyone else.”

For Bohachuk, the difference in how he feels now compared to the days before he faced Adams in like night and day.

“I feel much better,” Bohachuk said. “I’m feeling stronger, and I think it’s my weight division.”

Bohachuk's only losses have come against Adams (26-4, 16 KOs) twice and a razor-thin majority decision against Vergil Ortiz despite dropping him two times. Ortiz (24-0, 22 KOs) is The Ring's No. 1-ranked junior middleweight, while Adams is No. 7.

Butaev, 32, spent most of his career fighting at 147, but he moved up to 154 after losing by split decision to former WBA welterweight champion Eimantas Stanionis (16-1, 9 KOs) in a title eliminator in 2022. The Burtunay, Russia, native has only fought twice since. In his last fight, he returned to the ring after a two-year layoff to defeat Artem Pugach by unanimous decision in November.

“He’s a good opponent,” Bohachuk said. “He’s a strong boxer, a smart boxer, and I’m ready for him, and I’ll show that on Sunday. I need to do my job like I have for the last couple of months.”