TV Picks of The Week: Christian Mbilli vs. Sergey Derevyanchenko

Pick It: Christian Mbilli vs. Sergey Derevyanchenko

When to Watch: Saturday, August 17. 

The main broadcast begins at 10 p.m. Eastern Time (3 a.m. BST). The preliminary broadcast begins at 5 p.m Eastern Time (10 p.m. BST).

How to Watch: The main broadcast will be on ESPN, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes in the United States, and Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland. 

The preliminary broadcast will stream on ESPN+.

Why to Watch: Mbilli, an undefeated super middleweight prospect, is at last stepping up against a battle-tested opponent. The question is whether the battle-tested Derevyanchenko is now too battle-worn to allow us to scout just where Mbilli is in his development.

We’ll find out in this show, which takes place at the Centre Videotron in Quebec City. 

Mbilli is a 29-year-old who was born in Cameroon, lives in France, and fights out of Quebec. He is 27-0 (23 KOs) and has already fought twice in 2024, finishing Rohan Murdock in six in January and then disposing of Mark Heffron with a 40-second body-shot knockout in May. In 2023, Mbilli outpointed Carlos Gongora and put away Demond Nicholson in four rounds.

Derevyanchenko has infamously always been the bridesmaid, never the bride. 

His pro record of 15-5 (10 KOs) includes defeats against recognizable names: a close split decision loss to Daniel Jacobs in a 2018 middleweight title fight; a close unanimous decision loss to Gennadiy Golovkin in a 2019 middleweight title fight; a decision loss to Jermall Charlo in a 2020 middleweight title fight; a majority decision loss to Carlos Adames at middleweight in 2021; and a close unanimous decision loss to Jaime Munguia at super middleweight in 2023 in a war that won Fight of the Year honors.

Derevyanchenko, who originally hails from Ukraine and now lives in Brooklyn, did notch a few wins between those losses, outpointing Jack Culcay in 2019 and Joshua Conley in 2022, and he’s coming off a shutout victory over Vaughn Alexander this past April. But Derevyanchenko is also now 38 years old, and it’s fair to wonder whether age plus wear and tear will work against him, or if he’ll be able to once again test another up-and-comer.

“Derevyanchenko’s achievements speak for themselves,” said Mbilli’s promoter, Camille Estephan of Eye of the Tiger, in a press release back when the fight was announced. “This is a very dangerous fight, but extremely necessary for Christian Mbilli’s progression.”

If Derevyanchenko still has some fight left in him — and the ability to take a punch — then this could be a fun one.

On the main undercard, heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov will face Guido Vianello.

Makhmudov, 19-1 (18 KOs), is fighting for the second time since being stopped in four rounds by Agit Kabayel last December. He returned in May with a second-round knockout of Miljan Rovcanin. 

Vianello, 12-2-1 (10 KOs), was ahead on the scorecards when he took his first defeat, getting stopped on a cut in the seventh round against Jonathan Rice in January 2023. After picking up a pair of victories, Vianello lost a split decision to Efe Ajagba this past April.

Makhmudov and Vianello have met once before, back in 2015 in the semi-pro World Series of Boxing. Makhmudov won via fourth-round TKO due to Vianello suffering an ear injury.

And the preliminary broadcast will feature several prospects. Foremost among them is unbeaten super middleweight Osleys Iglesias, 11-0 (10 KOs) against Sena Agbeko, 28-3 (22 KOs).

Iglesias is coming off two straight first-round wins, putting away Marcelo Coceres in March and Evgeny Shvedenko in June. Agbeko is himself a recent victim of an early night, sent packing in two rounds by David Morrell last December

Lightweight prospect Abdullah Mason, 14-0 (12 KOs), is scheduled to meet Mike Ohan Jr., 19-2 (9 KOs). Also on this show in separate bouts: super middleweight Wilkens Mathieu, 9-0 (6 KOs) and junior lightweight Thomas Chabot, 10-0 (8 KOs), among others.

 

More Fights to Watch

Saturday, August 17: Denzel Bentley vs. Derrick Osaze (TNT Sports 1)

The broadcast begins at 7 p.m. BST.

Bentley is a 29-year-old middleweight looking to win his second fight in a row, building some much-needed momentum after a pair of setbacks.

The Londoner moved to 19-3-1 (16 KOs) thanks to the second-round technical knockout he scored over Danny Dignum in May. Before that, he had lost two of his last three. Dignum was outpointed by WBO titleholder Zhanibek Alimkhanuly in November 2022. He then knocked Kieran Smith out in 45 seconds in April 2023, but then was upset via majority decision by Nathan Heaney this past November.

His opponent at York Hall in London is Osaze, a 30-year-old from Nottingham. Osaze has won three straight since a 2021 points loss to Tyler Denny. Most recently, Osaze moved to 13-1 (3 KOs) in March thanks to a third-round TKO against the shell of Joel Julio, giving “The Love Child” his 16th consecutive loss.

Follow David Greisman on Twitter @FightingWords2. His book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.