Christian Mbilli is still ascending. And the rumor about Sergiy Derevyanchenko’s hard luck and hardness spreads.
Moving forward, the emphasis will be on the unbeaten Mbilli (28-0, 23 KOs), who is ranked among the top three at 168 pounds by every alphabet organization and appears to be in the running for a championship chance shortly. However, during the ten rounds on Saturday at the Centre Videotron in Quebec City, Canada, the emphasis was on the seasoned Derevyanchenko (15-6, 10 KOs), who persevered despite a left biceps injury to once again play the part of the unfortunate decision loser.
Mbilli prevailed with scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92. According to CompuBox statistics, he outpunched Derevyanchenko 193-113 in power punches. It was a fight that was always intense and captivating, even if it was rarely unclear who was winning. Towards the end of the race, when Derevyanchenko had little chance of winning and had to strive to retain his record of never having a stoppage, it was very suspenseful to watch. Similar to Gennady Golovkin, Daniel Jacobs, Jaime Munguia, and other fighters who came before him, Mbilli was forced to accept hearing the results read after a difficult bout against Derevyanchenko.
Fighting in front of an enthusiastic audience for the fifth time in his career and the eighth time in his previous ten fights, 29-year-old Mbilli instantly took on the persona of a power-punching stalker as Derevyanchenko’s strategy called for a lot of jabbing and movement. In the opening round, Christian was on the receiving end of a near right to the chin that appeared to scrape the Ukrainian’s shoulder before reaching his jaw, according to the replays. In the second and third rounds, Mbilli’s advantage was further increased by sporadic, striking power punches. The spectators began chanting Mbilli’s name at the end of the third, which at first glance to an untrained ear sounded like the standard team-sporting-event shout of “M-V-P.”
The fourth round began with the two former Olympians exchanging body punches, but a few seconds later, the battle completely transformed. With his left biceps clearly folded up, Derevyanchenko had to battle with only one hand, and his right hand had to work extra hard to compensate. Remarkably, that could have been the 38-year-old underdog’s finest round of the match, and for a brief while, Mbilli didn’t know how to handle the warrior with his right hand that was in front of him.
However, Mbilli quickly returned to making the big, eye-catching strokes and steadily accruing points, even wobbling Derevyanchenko a few times. In Round 7, Derevyanchenko put up a fantastic rally, blasting away with right hands while Christian generally covered, but just before the bell, the local favorite most likely won the round by wobbling Derevyanchenko with a right.
In the eighth, Derevyanchenko went into survival mode, and trainer Andre Rozier let him to continue with that survival in spite of heated internal disagreement before the ninth. Mbilli persisted in his style, throwing body and head combinations and going for the finish, or at least a knockdown, but Derevyanchenko managed to stay upright and even take control of the fight’s last ten seconds.
Speaking in terrible English, Derevyanchenko lamented his injuries, saying, “I want to punch, throw the shot, and I can’t.” Mbilli was a “good boxer, strong boxer,” in his words. However, I believe there will be a different circumstance if I had two hands.
Rozier added of his subordinate, “He possesses a warrior’s heart. We are aware of the agony caused by a torn bicep. With one hand, he took on one of the top 168-pound fighters. Just one hand. And he threw everything he had at it.
Christian also persevered despite his injuries; he noted that he had difficulty lifting his arm and iced his left shoulder afterwards. Regarding Derevyanchenko, he remarked, “This man is a warrior and a gladiator.” I now know a lot more. I’m going to watch Fighting again once I return. I’ll learn something from this.
The dream for Mbilli, like every other super middleweight contender, is a huge payout against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, who will face Edgar Berlanga on September 14 to defend his lineal championship.
“I’m prepared for a big battle. I aspire to win a global title. I have to defeat the greatest in order to be the best, Christian declared. When he said to ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna, “After [Berlanga], I think I would be ready for him,” he was obviously talking to Canelo, even if he didn’t use his name.
It was hard to tell from the Derevyanchenko match just how prepared Christian is for the class jump. The boxer, who was born in Cameroon, had not defeated any notable opponents before to defeating Derevyanchenko, despite having high alphabet ranks. It’s arguable that he could have used a few more “lessons” like this one before taking on Alvarez because he occasionally missed horribly and was unable to knock down his one-armed opponent. However, from the standpoint of the public, Christian would be as much of an underdog versus Alvarez as anybody else at super middleweight if he continues to show no desire in taking on David Benavidez.
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