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Who Will Reportedly Be Sergiy Derevyanchenko’s Next Opponent?

By Fight Sports Jul 6, 2020 Last updated Jul 6, 2020

While he is 1-2 in his last three fights, Sergiy Derevyanchenko has become a hot commodity in the boxing world. Due to the nature of the championship bouts he has competed in, Derevyanchenko has received several opportunities to fight for gold. Now, the Ukrainian contender may get another shot against some of boxing’s best.

According to Mike Coppinger of The Athletic, Derevyanchenko has received offers to face either Jermall Charlo or Canelo Alvarez. The report stated that Derevyanchenko is expected to decide on his fight future this week.

Derevyanchenko (13-2) is on quite a run. Following a twelve-fight win streak, Derevyanchenko impressed against Daniel Jacobs in October 2018 inside Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater. Fighting for the IBF Middleweight Title, Jacobs ended up with a split decision win. Following a rebound fight, Derevyanchenko faced Gennadiy Golovkin last October for the IBF and IBO Middleweight Titles. In another fight where it looked like Derevyanchenko was about to pull off the win, Golovkin ended up winning via unanimous decision. A majority of fans and media had Derevyanchenko winning both fights.

Recently, Charlo (30-0), the WBC Middleweight Champion, has requested a fight with Canelo. Charlo’s team realizes that he needs to face some of the top fighters out there, and would even consider adding Derevyanchenko to the list. The 30-year-old’s last fight was in December 2019, beating Dennis Hogan via TKO. Chris Eubank Jr. and Demetrius Andrade could also face Charlo.

A rumored fight with Canelo (53-1-2) could end up happening for Derevyanchenko in September. The middleweight king was rumored to face Billy Joe Saunders, but the WBO Super-Middleweight Champion officially backed out of the Canelo sweepstakes. As far as other opponents, Gennadiy Golovkin will not be involved in Canelo talks until at least early 2021. Golovkin previously stated that he would be focusing on facing Kamil Szeremeta first before a Canelo trilogy bout.

If he were to face Canelo, Derevyanchenko would most likely compete at a maximum of 168 pounds. Canelo has fought as high as super-middleweight in the division and competed in the light-heavyweight division not long ago.

Either fight would be a big payday for Derevyanchenko, and a win could provide him a title and the ultimate bragging rights.