Christian Mbilli (27-0, 23 KOs) will take a big step up in class against the experienced Sergiy Derevyanchenko (15-5, 10 KOs) in their 10-round fight at super middleweight this Saturday, August 17th, at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Canada. Saturday’s event will be shown live on ESPN starting at 10:00 p.m. ET.
A Step Up in Class for Mbilli
This fight will show whether the #1 WBC-ranked Mbilli has the real goods to contend for a world title against unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez. At 38, Derevyanchenko is still fighting at an extremely high level and is a much better fighter than anyone the 2016 Olympian Mbilli has fought during his short seven-year pro career.
Mbilli is 29, but he’s not young for his age due to his style of fighting, which involves nonstop punching without any semblance of defense. He’s exciting but gets hit, and we’ve seen him hurt.
That’s not a good sign when you’re about a fighter who has yet to fight his first true world-class opponent. Saturday will be the first time in Mbilli’s career that he’s fought a genuine top-tier contender, and it might not go well for him if he forgets about his defense.
Derevyanchenko’s Impressive Resume
Derevyanchenko, who was born in Ukraine, has loads of experience during his ten-year pro career with fights against these notable guys:
– Jaime Munguia
– Gennadiy Golovkin
– Jermall Charlo
– Daniel Jacobs
– Carlos Adames
– Tureano Johnson
“Derevyanchenko is a little long in the tooth and it depends on what he’s got left. He’s the most dangerous 15-5 guy in the world. You’re never going to see a guy with a record like that. You got to look past the numbers with a guy like Sergiy,” said Chris Algieri to the Probox TV YouTube channel about this Saturday’s fight between Christian Mbilli and Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
Derevyanchenko last fought in April, beating Vaughn Alexander by a one-sided ten-round unanimous decision. He looked good in that fight. Before that, Derevyanchenko lost a disappointing 12-round unanimous decision to Jaime Munguia last year in June 2023 in a razor-close contest that was decided in the final round.
“He’s been in with the tip-top guys with all the weight classes around 160 and 168. He lost to Munguia in his last fight in a Fight of the Year,” continued Algieri about Derevyanchenko. “Munguia needed a knockdown in the last round to pull that out of the fire to get the win. He [Derevyanchenko] has losses to GGG and Carlos Adames as well.”
What Algieri doesn’t say is that Derevyanchenko’s loss to Golovkin and defeat against Jacobs were questionable. He could have easily won both. His fight with Munguia could have been a draw, but the judges went with the younger fighter.
Proving Ground for a World Title Shot
“So, he’s only lost to the who’s who type of fighter,” said Algieri. “Is Mbilli that type of guy? I personally don’t think so, but Sergiy is long in the tooth. This isn’t his weight class at 168, and Mbilli has incredible momentum right now. He’s one of those guys who is just a workhorse.”
The way Mbilli has looked in fights against Rohan Murdock and Carlos Gongora, he doesn’t look like he’s the real thing. He’s a fighter who throws many punches and leaves himself open for shots. That style would work if he had a better chin, but he doesn’t, and it might catch up with him on Saturday night against Derevyanchenko.
“He has an incredible engine and comes in fantastic shape. He’s big for the weight class, he’s young [29], and he’s motivated,” said Algieri about Mbilli. “It’s a very tall task going against a guy like Mbilli in a position where Derevyanchenko is at. Can he get the win? It’s hard when you’re battling up a weight class, and you’ve had as many tough fights as Sergiy has had.
“The question is how much of Sergiy is there left?” said Algieri.
Derevyanchenko fought well in his last fight against Munguia, but he gassed out in the later rounds, which cost him the fight. If Mbilli’s gas tank holds up, he could win this fight on a decision.
What’s working against Mbilli is that it’s a ten-round fight, and Derevyanchenko, on his recent form, will have enough to fight hard for the entire fight. Whether the judges give Derevyanchenko the decision is another thing. He’s robbed several times before, which may also happen on Saturday.
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