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Sergiy Derevyanchenko Training Camp Notes
Top contender Sergiy Derevyanchenko believes that his
combination of skills and experience will make him the
toughest challenge that WBC Middleweight Champion Jermall
Charlo has faced in his career, as they near their showdown
this Saturday, September 26 headlining part one of CHARLO
DOUBLEHEADER, a SHOWTIME PPV event presented by Premier
Boxing Champions.
“I’ll definitely be his toughest test at middleweight,” said
Derevyanchenko. “Jermall has never faced anyone like me.
I’ll apply more pressure than he’s used to. He’s also never
faced anyone with my footwork. I’ll fight more on the inside
than his previous opponents.”
Derevyanchenko sports a 13-2 pro record with 10 knockouts,
following an extensive amateur career that included
representing his native Ukraine at the 2008 Olympics as part
of his 390-20 overall ledger. A pro since 2014,
Derevyanchenko’s experience in the amateurs has aided him as
he climbed up the middleweight division in the paid ranks.
“My amateur experience has helped me a lot,” said
Derevyanchenko. “I came to the pros with much more
experience in the ring than most other fighters and it’s
been a big part of what I’ve accomplished. I believe that
all of that experience will help me get the win on Saturday
and take Charlo’s belt.”
The 34-year-old now lives in Brooklyn and has avoided any
negative training impact of the pandemic by working with his
head trainer Andre Rozier at their private gym in New
Jersey. September 26 will be Derevyanchenko’s third world
title fight, after losing a narrow decision to Gennadiy
Golovkin last October and a split decision against Daniel
Jacobs in 2018. Each of his previous title fights have
presented different experiences that he can take into the
Charlo fight, based off the similarities and differences
between the opponents.
“Golovkin is a very different fighter than Charlo, but
Jacobs is similar stylistically, so that’s something I’ll be
used to,” said Derevyanchenko. “This training camp has been
very similar to camps for my previous fights though. We just
brought in different sparring partners for this one. We’re
using fighters who can show us what Charlo will bring to the
ring.
“We’re making necessary adjustments based off all our
experience and developing a game plan specifically for
Charlo. The sparring partners have been giving me great work
and I’m absolutely ready for September 26.”
In both of his title opportunities, Derevyanchenko has
suffered a knockdown in the first round, only to battle back
and nearly win the fight. Despite the similar script,
Derevyanchenko is not focusing on those opening round
mistakes as he prepares for Charlo.
“I’ll be very focused in the early rounds against Charlo,
we’re not dwelling on the past,” said Derevyanchenko. “We
always have an eye looking forward. I’ll try to get the win
faster against Charlo, so we’ll be applying more pressure
early.
“Those first round knockdowns were just brief moments in
those fights. I quickly moved on, put them behind me and
fought my way back into it. I told myself that I may have
lost the first round, but I just had to be better in the
remaining rounds.”
With fight week here and the bulk of the hard training
behind him, Derevyanchenko is prepared for the challenge
Charlo presents, no matter how the fight goes or which
strategy Charlo enters the ring with.
“I’m not solely focused on the fight going one certain way,
we just have our game plan and we’ll see what happens in the
ring,” said Derevyanchenko. “If I can knock him out, I’ll be
ready to go for it. But if it goes 12 rounds, I have all of
the skills to win a decision.”
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