by David P. Greisman, photo by Premier Boxing Champions
Sergiy Derevyanchenko is getting closer to a title shot, though the middleweight prospect would be getting there more quickly if he were in the ring more often.
“I would say it would be a lot sooner if it wasn’t for the gaps in his activity,” said Andre Rozier, co-trainer to Derevyanchenko alongside Gary Stark Sr. “He’s such a phenomenal athlete. He should be fighting and entertaining boxing fans consistently on television.”
Derevyanchenko competed in the 2008 Olympics and then participated in the semipro World Series of Boxing, where he was 23-1. His official pro debut came in 2014; the 31-year-old is 9-0 with 7 KOs.
His last victory came in July, when he took out a shopworn Sam Soliman in two rounds.
“At this point, it’d be nice to have four more fights and then I think he’ll be ready to go,” Rozier said. “He is a joy to train, and since he’s come under our tutelage, it’s been a wonderful transfer of information from us to him, and I just love him to death. … He knows he’s talented and he knows he can fight. We’ve worked on things to make him the best fighter he can be. It’s just manifesting them in the ring.”
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