There are more significant things going on in the world than a prizefight in Brooklyn on Saturday night, but for Ukrainian middleweight Sergiy Derevyanchenko, the focus must be there if he wants to keep his dreams of a world championship alive. And for his career and family, nothing could be more important, even though a piece of him will always be back home.
“I’m always fighting for Ukraine,” said Derevyanchenko. “I represent my country every time I step into the ring.”
Representing Ukraine means a lot more these days for Derevyanchenko and his peers, many of whom came to the United States to build a better life for themselves and chase a dream their nation couldn’t provide for them. Before his 2020 bout with Jermall Charlo, I asked him about his trips back there.
“I have family and good friends there,” he said. “When I’m back home, I’m relaxed, and when I come back, I have a lot of power.”
There have been no trips since the war with Russia broke out in February, leaving Derevyanchenko to distract himself with training in his adopted hometown of Brooklyn, New York, where he will fight for the first time since 2018 against Joshua Conley on Saturday’s Danny Garcia-Jose Benavidez Jr. card. It’s not easy, but it is necessary for the 36-year-old, who finds himself in a precarious position in his career, having lost three straight and four of his last five.
Those are the nuts-and-bolts numbers. Look at the names he’s lost to in this stretch – Daniel Jacobs, Gennadiy Golovkin, Jermall Charlo, Carlos Adames – and how he lost, via one split, one majority and two unanimous decisions, and that paints a different picture, especially with Charlo the only fighter to clearly beat him. A point here, a break there, and Derevyanchenko might already be a world champion, but the fight game has never been fair, and that goes double for those approaching 40, so when he steps in with the 17-3-1 Conley, it’s imperative for him to win in order to keep hopes of a title alive.
“Everyone will see my improvements on fight night,” Derevyanchenko said. “I’m facing an opponent who can jab and move. He’s not going to be very busy in there, but I know that I have to be ready for his counters.”
On paper, Derevyanchenko should win. He’s gone neck-and-neck with the best in the game and nearly left the ring with a belt while headlining the big room at Madison Square Garden, MSG’s Theater, and the Mohegan Sun Arena. This weekend, he’s on Showtime’s YouTube and Facebook channels and not on the main televised card. See, boxing is not kind, but Derevyanchenko doesn’t pay attention to such matters. He’s happy to be fighting in Brooklyn and to be fighting, period, for the first time since the majority decision loss to Adames.
“This is a big event and I’m excited to be a part of it,” he said. “I’m very happy to be a part of it and motivated to deliver for the fans.” “It’s always fun to fight at Barclays Center. It’s a big arena and they have amazing crowds. I can’t wait to be back in the ring.”
On the positive side, Derevyanchenko does still sit in the Top 10 at 160 pounds, and had he beaten Adames, he would have been in line for another crack at Charlo’s WBC belt. So with a win this weekend, he will likely get a good matchup that could move him back up into the title conversation, and he has no intention of changing his current neighborhood.
“I still feel strong at middleweight,” he said. “I’m going to keep working and facing the best challengers I can get so that I’m back in title contention.”
Anyone in particular?
“I want to fight any of the champions at middleweight,” said Derevyanchenko of a weight class currently ruled by Charlo, Golovkin, Erislandy Lara, Demetrius Andrade and Janibek Alimkhanuly. “Jaime Munguia would be a great fight. There’s a lot of strong fighters in the division and I want to face any of them.”
That’s a lot of fighters calling themselves “King” in one of the sport’s most storied divisions and you would think that eventually, Derevyanchenko could at least grab one belt. That’s the storybook ending, but there are so few of those in this sport. But the Ukrainian battler isn’t thinking negatively or about how his story plays out. All that matters is Saturday, winning, and keeping a dream alive.
“I want to come back stronger and I’m ready to show it,” he said. “I feel strong physically. I still have the desire mentally and my body is still responding and able to perform. That’s all I can ask for.”