Sergiy Derevyanchenko: record, next fight and profile →
Former world champion Daniel Jacobs fights Sergiy Derevyanchenko for the vacant International Boxing Federation middleweight world title Saturday with one eye on Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.
NEW YORK – Chris Algieri had an up-close view of many of the Daniel Jacobs-Sergiy Derevyanchenko sparring sessions. Algieri, a nutritionist and assistant trainer for Jacobs the past couple years, came away from those countless battles with a unique understanding of just how competitive their IBF middleweight title fight will be Saturday night.
NEW YORK – Lou DiBella prefaced his complimentary comparison with a sensible disclaimer. Sergiy Derevyanchenko’s promoter is as aware as anyone that his fighter hasn’t accomplished nearly as much as a professional prizefighter as Gennady Golovkin. DiBella is still convinced Derevyanchenko will give Daniel Jacobs every bit as tough a fight as Golovkin did in March 2017 when they meet for the vacant IBF middleweight title Saturday night.
Jacobs, Derevyanchenko Final Press Conference Photos Gallery - HBO Sports heads to the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City for the explosive tripleheader WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: DANIEL JACOBS VS. SERGIY DEREVYANCHENKO, ALBERTO MACHADO VS. YUANDALE EVANS AND HEATHER HARDY VS. SHELLY VINCENT 2 presented SATURDAY, OCT. 27 at 10:00 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT) on HBO. The HBO Sports team will call the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino. (photos by Ed Mulholland)
Sergiy Derevyanchenko doesn’t believe Gennady Golovkin ducked him. The middleweight contender realizes he was a high-risk, low-reward alternative for Golovkin once the Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Canelo Alvarez and consequently canceled their May 5 rematch. Had Golovkin agreed to fight the dangerous Derevyanchenko on three weeks’ notice and lost, the former champion would’ve cost himself an eight-figure payday for facing Alvarez again.
Derevyanchenko Workout Photos Gallery - Daniel Jacobs (34-2, 29 KOs) and Sergiy Derevyanchenko (12-0, 10 KOs) will clash for the vacant IBF World Middleweight Title and Alberto Machado (20-0, 16 KOs) will defend his WBA Super Featherweight Title against Yuandale Evans (20-1, 14 KOs on Saturday, October 27 at the Hulu Theater from Madison Square Garden in New York. The doubleheader will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.
Daniel Jacobs Workout Photos Gallery - Daniel Jacobs (34-2, 29 KOs) and Sergiy Derevyanchenko (12-0, 10 KOs) will clash for the vacant IBF World Middleweight Title and Alberto Machado (20-0, 16 KOs) will defend his WBA Super Featherweight Title against Yuandale Evans (20-1, 14 KOs on Saturday, October 27 at the Hulu Theater from Madison Square Garden in New York. The doubleheader will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.
Lou DiBella realizes even some hardcore boxing fans aren’t all that familiar with Sergiy Derevyanchenko. The unbeaten, unknown middleweight contender’s promoter blames some of Derevyanchenko’s anonymity in the United States on himself and some on boxing politics that forced the IBF’s mandatory challenger to wait until Saturday night for his title shot. DiBella still is certain Derevyanchenko will emerge from his career-defining fight against Daniel Jacobs as a much more known, proven commodity than when he enters the ring inside The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
Lou DiBella considers Daniel Jacobs-Sergiy Derevyanchenko a true “50-50 fight.” One edge DiBella gives Derevyanchenko, the fighter he promotes, is that he considers the unbeaten Ukrainian contender to be hungrier. Jacobs, 31, has surpassed eight figures in career earnings, has headlined an HBO Pay-Per-View event against Gennady Golovkin at Madison Square Garden and has received mainstream attention for valiantly overcoming cancer.
NEW YORK – The vacant IBF middleweight title won’t be the only thing at stake for Daniel Jacobs a week from Saturday night. If Jacobs can defeat Sergiy Derevyanchenko in what should be a difficult 12-round, 160-pound title fight, promoter Eddie Hearn thinks there’s a “very, very, very good chance” Jacobs will earn a shot to challenge Canelo Alvarez on May 4. That’d also require the heavily favored Alvarez to defeat England’s Rocky Fielding – who, like Jacobs, is promoted by Hearn – on December 15 at Madison Square Garden and return to the middleweight division for his following fight.