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Top contender Sergiy Derevyanchenko believes his combination of skills and experience will make him the toughest challenge WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo has faced in his career as they approach their showdown this Saturday, April 26. September headlining the first part of CHARLO DOUBLEHEADER, a SHOWTIME PPV. event presented by Premier Boxing Champions.
“I will definitely be his toughest test at middleweight,” Derevyanchenko said. “Jermall has never faced anyone like me. I will apply more pressure than you are used to. Nor has he faced anyone with my footwork. I will fight more on the inside than your previous opponents. “
Derevyanchenko has a professional record of 13-2 with 10 knockouts, following an extensive amateur career that included representing his native Ukraine at the 2008 Olympics as part of his 390-20 general ledger.
A professional since 2014, Derevyanchenko’s experience in the fans has helped him rise through the middleweight division in the paid ranks.
“My amateur experience has helped me a lot,” Derevyanchenko said. “I reached out to professionals with much more experience in the ring than most other fighters and it has been a huge part of what I have accomplished.
I think that all that experience will help me get the victory on Saturday and take Charlo’s belt ”.
The 34-year-old now lives in Brooklyn and has avoided any negative impact of the pandemic on training by working with his head coach Andre Rozier at his private gym in New Jersey.
September 26 will be Derevyanchenko’s third world title fight, after losing a close decision to Gennadiy Golovkin last October and a split decision against Daniel Jacobs in 2018.
Each of his previous title fights has featured different experiences that can lead to Charlo’s fight, based on the similarities and differences between opponents.
“Golovkin is a very different fighter than Charlo, but Jacobs is stylistically similar, so that’s something I’ll be used to,” Derevyanchenko said. “However, this training ground has been very similar to the fields of my previous fights. We just brought in different sparring partners for this one. We are using fighters who can show us what Charlo will bring to the ring.
“We are making the necessary adjustments based on all of our experience and developing a game plan specifically for Charlo. My training partners have been doing a great job for me and I am absolutely ready for September 26. “
In his two title chances, Derevyanchenko has suffered a knockdown in the first round, only to fight back and almost win the fight. Despite the similar script, Derevyanchenko doesn’t focus on first-round mistakes as he prepares for Charlo.
“I will be very focused on the first rounds against Charlo, we are not going to dwell on the past,” Derevyanchenko said. “We always have one eye looking forward. I will try to win faster against Charlo, so we will apply more pressure at the beginning.
“Those knockdowns in the first round were just brief moments in those fights. I quickly moved forward, leaving them behind me and struggling to get back inside. I told myself that I could have lost the first round, but I had to be better in the remaining rounds. “
With fight week here and most of the tough training behind him, Derevyanchenko is up for the challenge Charlo presents, no matter how the fight goes or what strategy Charlo enters the ring with.
“I’m not just concentrating on the fight going a certain way, we just have our game plan and we’ll see what happens in the ring,” Derevyanchenko said. “If I can knock him out, I’ll be ready to do it. But if it lasts 12 rounds, I have all the skills to win a decision. “
