ESPN commentator Tim Bradley had labeled Sergiy Derevyanchenko as a “washed” fighter going into his fight against Christian Mbilli on Saturday night. He went silent when the house fighter Mbilli failed to score a knockout of the one-armed, 38-year-old at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.
Bradley was equally silent after Mbilli (28-0, 23 KOs) got hurt by Derevyanchenko (15-6, 5 KOs) and had to ride out a bad round. Mbilli, 29, got the win due partly to Derevyanchenko fighting with an injured left from the fourth round and being forced to fight with just his right.
A Volume Puncher, Not a Powerhouse
The scores were 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92. Although Mbilli’s win was dominant, it fell short of impressive. He didn’t fight like a future world champion or an impressive contender.
He just looked like a fighter who throws a lot of shots, gets hit a lot, and wins based on a superior engine. Mbilli didn’t show huge power. We saw a simple volume guy who threw many punches tonight, frequently bending the rules with shots seemingly aimed at the back of Derevyanchenko’s head. He wasn’t as impressive as the talking heads at ESPN made him out to be.
Injury Turns the Tide
The fight turned one-sided after Derevyanchenko suffered the injury in the forty round, as he didn’t have the left hook, which is usually his key weapon to throw to the body. He’d used it well in the first three rounds to nail Mbilli as he plodded forward, throwing winging homerun shots.
“My legs were good. I only had one arm. I needed to move. When I stayed, he punched in combinations,” said Derevyanchenko after the fight about what he had to deal with due to his injury. “He’s a good boxer, a strong boxer. But if I had two hands, I think it would be another situation.”
Unfortunately for Derevyanchenko, there will never be a rematch, so he won’t get to fight Mbilli again unless the Canadian-based fighter’s career falls apart soon.
Fans on social media overwhelmingly felt that a healthy Derevyachenko would have beaten Mbilli tonight. They feel that Mbilli isn’t ready to fight unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez, and I agree. He’s not even close to being ready.
