Undefeated super middleweight Christian Mbilli will take a big step forward against Sergiy Derevyanchenko this summer on August 17, live on ESPN, in a ten-round fight at the Videotron Center in Quebec City, Canada.
A Step Up in Mbilli's Competition
This is undoubtedly the first world class 29-year-old Canadian Mbilli (27-0, 23 KOs) will face, and it will be interesting to see if he is ready to face 'The Technician. Derevyanchenko (20-5, 10 KOs).
The event of Mbilli vs. Derevyanchenko will be shown on ESPN at 10:00 pm ET/7:00 pm PT and on Sky Sports in the UK.
This is the fight #1 WBC Mbilli needs to win to stay in the position to challenge for the world title against WBA/WBC/WBO super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
Derevyanchenko, 38, has fought for world titles three times, losing to Gennadiy Golovkin, Jermall Charlo and Daniel Jacobs.
'Professional' Derevyanchenko fought well enough to pick up wins in two of those fights against Jacobs and Golovkin but was never given the benefit of the doubt.
That has been the story of his career; Derevyanchenko has also been on the short end of the stick with questionable defeats against Jaime Munguia and Carlos Adames. I had Derevyanchenko beating both of those guys, and a lot of fans did.
The only true loss in Derevyanchenko's ten-year career came against Jermall Charlo in September 2020. Other than that, Derevyanchenko arguably should have won the other four fights he lost. Jermall hasn't been the same fighter since the Derevyanchenko fight, and that's interesting to note. That was the downfall of the fighter.
“I decided to go up to 168 to win the world title. Throughout my career I have been fighting the best in the world, and August 17 will be no different,” said Derevyanchenko. “I am fighting a tough opponent in Christian Mbilli, who is ranked number one in the WBC. If I win this fight, I expect to fight for the next world title.”
Derevyanchenko's upset of Mbilli for a title shot against Canelo would be a major career turning point for the 2008 Ukrainian Olympian. Some see Mbilli as a future world champion, but he hasn't faced anyone close enough to know for sure.
The Unexplored Resurrection of Christian Mbilli
Recent wins:
Mark Heffron
Rohan Murdock
Demond Nicholson
Carlos Gongora
Vaughn Alexander
As I said, Mbilli is untested as a professional, and he will face his first true world class opponent when he meets Derevyanchenko. Billi did not look good against Murdock, who was a second team player. If Mbilli fights Derevyanchenko like that, he will lose.
Hopefully, we don't see Derevyanchenko lose a controversial decision because he's fighting the much-vaunted Billi in his own backyard in Quebec City, and he's been picked to give him some credibility.
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