CHRISTIAN MBILLI (ranked top three by each of the governing bodies) secured a dominant unanimous decision victory over Sergiy Derevyanchenko in a 10-round super middleweight bout, headlining a nine-fight card at Centre Videotron in Quebec, Canada.
Both fighters started the first round on their toes, eager to engage. Mbilli quickly established his stiff jab, following it up with strong straight rights and powerful hooks.
Mbilli effectively avoided Derevyanchenko’s headshots by moving his head off the line and targeted the body early on. Derevyanchenko tried to counter with hooks, but was unable to gain an advantage against the undefeated Frenchman.
Throughout the fight, Mbilli controlled the pace with his output. In round two, he landed a strong right hand, hooks, and power shots, pushing Derevyanchenko into the corner.
In round four, Derevyanchenko appeared to have injured his left bicep, yet he became more competitive briefly by throwing combinations in survival mode. Round five saw a one-handed Derevyanchenko using feint jabs and slower-paced right hands.
Round seven was Derevyanchenko’s best round, landing body shots and big rights that stunned Mbilli. However, Mbilli regained control with two assertive right hands before the round ended.
As the injured Derevyanchenko tried to last until the final bell, Mbilli continued to land combinations, staggering his opponent. The fight was scored 100-90, 99-91, 98-92 in favor of Mbilli, who improved to 28-0 (23 KOs), while Derevyanchenko, a three-time title challenger, fell to 15-6 (10 KOs).