He was just 10 years old when he first entered a boxing gym in his hometown of Stebnyk, Ukraine. By the time that he was a teenager and young adult, Oleh Dovhun had gained a reputation as a top-flight amateur fighter. With over 300 amateur fights, and several national titles, Dovhun travelled the world fighting with the Ukraine National Team as well as with the elite Ukraine Ottoman team of the World Series of Boxing.
In early 2017, Dovhun and fellow countryman, cruiserweight Lyubomyr Pinchuk, left Ukraine to start their pro careers in America. The young fighters signed with Integrity Fighter Management and both fighters have been trained by Michael McSorley of the Conn-Greb Boxing Club in Pittsburgh. It was McSorley who first started calling Oleh “The Ukrainian Pitbull”. The name stuck.
“Oleh is relentless” McSorley said. “He will be very hard for anyone to handle at 122.”
Dovhun has a record of 15-0 with 5 knockouts. On November 13th, 2021, he won the World Boxing Association’s NABA 122-pound belt by defeating Baltimore’s (16-3-1) Glenn Dezurn. Since then, he has made two successful defenses against Belgium’s (9-4) Geram Eloyan, and most recently, Nicaragua’s 8-7-3 Juan Centeno. Dovhun is promoted by Joe DeGuardia’ s Star Boxing and he is currently ranked #4 by the WBA.
On Saturday night, (37-3) Marlon Tapales’split decision win over (11-1) Murodjon Akhmadaliev sent shockwaves in the stacked 122 division. With all eyes on the scheduled July 25th, for the Naoya Inoue vs. Stephen Fulton showdown, it will be interesting to see which boxer will be next for the new WBA and IBF champion Tapales.
“Tapales, Kameda, Gonzalez, it does not matter.” Dovhun said. “I want the top ranked guys and the world title!”