NEW YORK -- For the second time in his career Sergiy Derevyanchenko will fight for the vacant IBF middleweight title. His first shot at that title came last year against Daniel Jacobs, a fight he lost. This time around Derevyanchenko will be in tough again, this time against former champion Gennady Golovkin. The middleweights will meet on Oct. 5 in the main event of a DAZN card.
Derevyanchenko (13-1, 10 KOs) is a fighter who seems like he hasn't ever lived up to his early hype. He's shown himself to be a good fighter but he doesn't really do anything at an elite level. Derevyanchenko has a solid jab but he isn't a fighter who is going to spend 12 rounds boxing from the outside and controlling the action with his jab. Instead, the Ukrainian is at his best when he's on the inside. At close range Derevyanchenko flashes a skilled left hook along with a mean right hand and he never forgets to bang the body. His aggressive inside attack also leaves him vulnerable to return fire which is something Golovkin could take advantage of.
After a successful amateur career Derevyanchenko began fighting professionally in 2014 and began quickly rising in the rankings. He picked up a dominant win over the awkward Sam Soliman in 2016 and stopped Tureano Johnson in the final round of a 12-round fight just a year later. Derevyanchenko's biggest opportunity came last year when he stepped in the ring against Jacobs. Despite being dropped in the opening round of that bout, Derevyanchenko came back to give Jacobs all he could handle. While he lost that fight via split decision he showed he belongs among the top middleweights in the division. Since losing to Jacobs in late 2018 Derevyanchenko has fought just once, beating Jack Culcay via unanimous decision. Now he will fight for a world title for just the second time in his career but he'll have to get by Golovkin to get the strap.
At 37 years old Golovkin (39-1-1, 35 KOs) will look to recapture the IBF title he once held. By now fans are well aware of Golovkin's prodigious power. It isn't just his power punches that can do damage though, his jab also lands with a thud. Golovkin's jab is an excellent weapon and helps set up everything else he does. His right hand can do serious damage but it's Golovkin's left hook that usually ends fights. The former champ also does a tremendous job of cutting off the ring which allows him to keep opponents where he wants them and allows him to unload on them. He's certainly slowed down in recent years so opponents have had an easier time escaping his attack but he's still one of the most dangerous punchers in boxing and still near the top of most pound-for-pound lists. Defensively Golovkin has always been there to be hit but he continues to show one of the sturdiest chins in all of boxing.
When fighters get closer to 40 their career is usually winging down. Of course that doesn't apply to everyone, see Bernard Hopkins. Still, there seems to be a narrative around Golovkin that he's nearing the end. While there is little doubt that he's slowed down a touch part of that narrative is due to his two fights with Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez. Their two fights ended in a draw and a majority decision for Alvarez and those results took some of the luster from Golovkin. Yet the argument can be made that Golovkin actually won both fights, especially the first and if he had gone 2-0 in those fights he might very well find himself sitting on top of most pound-for-pound lists right now. Instead Golovkin took a loss and then fought Steve Rolls in a fight no one wanted to see. Now the veteran will look to regain a middleweight title and maybe even get that third fight with Alvarez. It should also be noted that while Derevyanchenko was dropped and lost a close decision to Jacobs, Golovkin dropped and won a close decision against Jacobs.
This fight should provide fans with plenty of power punches. Both Derevyanchenko and Golovkin like to let their hands go and both have good power. Look for Golovkin to work his jab early while staying on the outside. If he can keep Derevyanchenko on the outside with his jab he will find plenty of opportunities to land his own power punches because Derevyanchenko isn't a great outside fighter. To win this fight Derevyanchenko will need to slip the jab of Golovkin and get inside where he can focus on the body of the older fighter. If he can get inside consistently he will find success. However, slipping Golovkin's excellent jab won't be easy and he'd probably have to eat a few punches to get there and most fighters aren't able to eat too many punches from Golovkin.
PREDICTION: Sergiy Derevyanchenko is a good fighter. He might even be a very good fighter but he won't be good enough to beat Gennady Golovkin. Golovkin is going to be very sharp in this fight and he will be the first man to stop Derevyanchenko, doing so in the 11th round.
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| Derevyanchenko, on the attack against Daniel Jacobs |
After a successful amateur career Derevyanchenko began fighting professionally in 2014 and began quickly rising in the rankings. He picked up a dominant win over the awkward Sam Soliman in 2016 and stopped Tureano Johnson in the final round of a 12-round fight just a year later. Derevyanchenko's biggest opportunity came last year when he stepped in the ring against Jacobs. Despite being dropped in the opening round of that bout, Derevyanchenko came back to give Jacobs all he could handle. While he lost that fight via split decision he showed he belongs among the top middleweights in the division. Since losing to Jacobs in late 2018 Derevyanchenko has fought just once, beating Jack Culcay via unanimous decision. Now he will fight for a world title for just the second time in his career but he'll have to get by Golovkin to get the strap.
At 37 years old Golovkin (39-1-1, 35 KOs) will look to recapture the IBF title he once held. By now fans are well aware of Golovkin's prodigious power. It isn't just his power punches that can do damage though, his jab also lands with a thud. Golovkin's jab is an excellent weapon and helps set up everything else he does. His right hand can do serious damage but it's Golovkin's left hook that usually ends fights. The former champ also does a tremendous job of cutting off the ring which allows him to keep opponents where he wants them and allows him to unload on them. He's certainly slowed down in recent years so opponents have had an easier time escaping his attack but he's still one of the most dangerous punchers in boxing and still near the top of most pound-for-pound lists. Defensively Golovkin has always been there to be hit but he continues to show one of the sturdiest chins in all of boxing.
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| Golovkin, catching Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez with a right hand |
This fight should provide fans with plenty of power punches. Both Derevyanchenko and Golovkin like to let their hands go and both have good power. Look for Golovkin to work his jab early while staying on the outside. If he can keep Derevyanchenko on the outside with his jab he will find plenty of opportunities to land his own power punches because Derevyanchenko isn't a great outside fighter. To win this fight Derevyanchenko will need to slip the jab of Golovkin and get inside where he can focus on the body of the older fighter. If he can get inside consistently he will find success. However, slipping Golovkin's excellent jab won't be easy and he'd probably have to eat a few punches to get there and most fighters aren't able to eat too many punches from Golovkin.
PREDICTION: Sergiy Derevyanchenko is a good fighter. He might even be a very good fighter but he won't be good enough to beat Gennady Golovkin. Golovkin is going to be very sharp in this fight and he will be the first man to stop Derevyanchenko, doing so in the 11th round.
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