Super middleweight contender Christian Mbilli will take a serious step up in competition on Saturday night when he faces Sergiy Derevyanchenko at the Centre Videotron in Quebec City, Canada, on ESPN.
Mbilli (27-0, 23 KOs) will fight for the third time this year. In May, Mbilli made mincemeat of Mark Heffron, knocking out the Brit in 40 seconds to improve his career KO ratio to 85 percent. In January, Mbilli stopped Rohan Murdock in six rounds.
The momentous wins landed Mbilli, a Canada-based French-Cameroonian, a co-promotional deal with Top Rank in March. Mbilli is also promoted by Camille Estephan’s Eye of the Tiger Management.
“We’ve been looking for this kind of an opponent for a long time,” Mbilli told BoxingScene. “Derevyanchenko has fought a lot of champions. I think he’s the best kind of fighter for me to show the world of boxing how great I am.
“I have to be the best at everything [to beat him] – technically, physically, speed – everywhere. That’s what I am training for.”
“The Technician” Derevyanchenko (15-5, 10 KOs) bounced back from his Fight of the Year loss to Jaime Munguia in 2023 with a shutout unanimous decision win against Vaughn Alexander in April.
The Brooklyn-based Ukrainian Derevyanchenko, 38, is a world-class contender who has fallen short in each of the big fights he has taken, albeit in close encounters against the likes of Gennady Golovkin, Jermall Charlo, Daniel Jacobs and Carlos Adames.
“I see a very tough fight. I’m either going to knock him out or have a unanimous decision,” said Mbilli. “I’m going to put everything I have into the fight. It’s going to be a spectacular fight.
“If I knock him out, it will be perfect. But I don’t go in there for knockouts. I look to beat them up round by round. If I have any opportunity to knock him out, I am going to take it.”
If Mbilli scores the win against Derevyanchenko, he’ll set up a likely showdown against Jaime Munguia, who recently linked up with Top Rank before his Sept. 20 fight against Mbilli teammate Erik Bazinyan.
“Hopefully after this fight, I will come to the United States and put on a great performance there,” said Mbilli. “I’m 29 years old now and at my best physically and mentally. I am ready for the big fights.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.
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