Christian Mbilla’s climb continues. And the legend of Sergii Derevyanchenko’s toughness and bad luck grows.
The undefeated Mbilli (28-0, 23 KOs), ranked in the top three at 168 pounds by every alphabetical division and seemingly in line for a title shot, will be history for the foreseeable future. But in the ring Saturday at the Centre Videotron in Quebec City, Canada, the spotlight fell on veteran Derevyanchenko (15-6, 10 KOs) for 10 rounds, who battled a left bicep injury to once again play the role of a decision loser.
Mbilli won by scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92, while CompuBox’s stats showed him out-striking Derevyanchenko by a landslide of 193-113. It was a fight in which there was rarely any doubt as to who was winning, but it never ceased to be competitive and engaging. It was particularly compelling to watch towards the end, when Derevyanchenko no longer had a realistic path to victory, but also had a career-long unbeaten streak he was trying to maintain. Like Gennady Golovkin, Daniel Jacobs, Jaime Munguia, and others before him, Mbilli had to content himself with reading the scorecards at the end of a tough fight with Derevyanchenko.
The 29-year-old Mbilli, fighting in front of a supportive crowd — his fifth straight fight in Canada and eighth in his last 10 — immediately assumed the role of a power-punching stalker as Derevyanchenko’s game plan included a massive dose of jabs and movement. A right to the chin tipped Mbilli’s way in the first round (though replays showed it grazed the Ukrainian’s shoulder before reaching his jaw), and similarly, in the second and third rounds, the occasional eye-catching power punch tipped the scales in Mbilli’s favor. By the end of the third round, the fans had begun chanting Mbilli’s name, which to the untrained ear initially sounded like the common chant at team sports events, “MVP.”
The two former Olympians traded body blows to start the fourth round, but moments later the entire fight changed. Derevyanchenko became a one-handed fighter, his left bicep visibly curled and his right arm working overtime to compensate. Surprisingly, this may have been the 38-year-old outsider’s best round of the fight, and Mbilli seemed momentarily confused about what to do with the right-handed fighter in front of him.
But Mbilli soon returned to landing massive, attention-grabbing punches, methodically scoring points and staggering Derevyanchenko several times. Derevyanchenko made a stunning run in Round 7, bombarding with right hooks while Mbilli mostly covered up, but the local favorite probably won the round anyway, staggering Derevyanchenko with a right just before the bell.
Derevyanchenko went into survival mode in the eighth round, and despite intense internal debate before the ninth, coach Andre Rozier allowed him to continue that survival. Mbilli simply did his thing, landing combinations to the body and head and pushing for a knockout – or at least a knockdown – but Derevyanchenko stayed on his feet until the end and even managed to dominate the last 10 seconds of the fight.
“I want to punch, throw, but I can’t,” Derevyanchenko said of his injury in broken English. He said Mbilli is “a good boxer, a powerful boxer. But if I have two hands, I think it will be a different situation.”
Rozier added of his protégé: “He’s got the heart of a fighter. He had a torn bicep; we know how painful that can be. … He fought one of the best 168-pounders with one hand. One arm. And he gave it his all.”
Mbilli also battled the injury, later putting ice on his left arm and noting he had trouble lifting his arm. He said of Derevyanchenko: “The man, he’s a gladiator, he’s a warrior. I learned a lot. I’ll go back and watch the fight again. I’ll learn from it.”
Like every super middleweight contender, Mbilli’s dream is a huge payday in a fight with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, who is scheduled to defend his title against Edgar Berlanga on September 14.
“I’m ready for a gigantic fight. I want to be a world champion. To be the best, I have to beat the best,” Mbilli said. He didn’t mention Canelo by name, but he clearly had him in mind when he told ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna: “After [Berlanga]“I think I’d be ready for him.”
It was demanding to tell from the Derevyanchenko fight how ready Mbilli was to make the jump up a class. Despite his high-rankings, the Cameroonian-born fighter hadn’t defeated a stern contender before defeating Derevyanchenko. He’s been a bit of a wimp at times, and it could be argued that he could do with a few “lessons” like that before he challenges Alvarez. On the other hand, from a fan perspective, if Alvarez continues to refuse to give David Benavidez a chance, Mbilli would be as obvious an outsider to him as anyone else in the super middleweight division.
MMA6 months ago
MMA6 months ago
Boxing4 months ago
Interviews6 months ago
Opinions & Features1 month ago