This Saturday night from Quebec City Christian Mbilli takes on his toughest test to date Sergiy Derevyanchenko. This event will be live on ESPN/ESPN+/ESPN Deportes. Mbilli is one of the most active boxers in the sport at the contender level. Saturday’s main event is the perfect time to take another step on the ladder of Super Middleweight. The headliner is a ten round bout with Osleys Iglesias vs. Sena Agbeko and Makhmudov vs. Vinaello on the undercard.
This will be Mbilli’s 8th fight since 2022 and his 3rd fight this year so he should be primed and ready to go. Fighting in the country north of the America’s border, the Frenchman has built a nice face base. Christian’s style is fan friendly no doubt. That said he will be pushed to the limit fighting an experience contender. Mbilli’s exciting style may be chicken fodder for a skilled boxer such as Serigy. Will that face-first, wide-swinging aggression be just what the doctor ordered for Derevyanchenko?
15-5 as a pro is a very misleading record for Mbilli’s opponent. Sure Derevyanchenko has won just 3 times since 2018 but that doesn’t begin to tell the story. He lost to Daniel Jacobs via split-decision. Many thought he did enough to earn a victory over Gennadiy Golovikin. Another loss to Carlos Adames came by majority decision. Jaime Munguia needed a late body punch to seal the deal last summer. The only guy to beat him widely is Jermall Charlo in 2020. Charlo’s power jab controlled the fight but Sergiy still managed to get his licks in.
This boxing podcaster believes Derevyanchenko’s heart, chin, and solid fundamentals gives him a legit chance to pull the upset. The experience facing so many quality boxers, even on the short end of the stick is priceless. Sergiy is no longer in his prime and we all know a boxer can grow old overnight. That said the shorter more accurate punches during what should be numerous exchanges is a recipe for victory.
Regardless if Sergiy is over the hill this boxing junkie will give Mbilli full credit if he is able to score a stoppage. Don’t get me wrong Derevyanchenko will have to walk thru hell and dig deep to overcome adversity that is surely coming his way. In what will be a dog fight featuring back and forth action throughout, Sergiy will find a way to change the fight in his favor for good with the cleaner shots. From a gambling perspective one can get still get a plus number for Mbilli by decision, around +450 and above for Sergiy via Decision and -123 for the fight to go the distance is a good bet as well.
My Official Prediction is Sergiy Derevyanchenko by Split-Decision.
PODCAST LINK: http://tobtr.com/12362213
Side Note: Keep an eye out for the return of one of the hottest prospect in boxing Abdullah Mason on the prelims.
Written by Chris Carlson Host/Producer of The Rope A Dope Radio Podcast Available at www.blogtalkradio.com/ropeadoperadio Follow on Twitter @RopeADopeRadio
Read the full article here
