Last week saw confirmation that former WBA belt holder Daniel Jacobs (34-2, 29 KO’s) will challenge for the vacant IBF World middleweight crown, after a bout with unbeaten contender Sergiy Derevyanchenko (12-0, 10 KO’s) was announced for October 27th at Madison Square Garden.
Jacobs, who held the WBA ‘Regular’ middleweight title between 2014-2016, challenges for World honours for the first time since a narrow defeat to divisional kingpin Gennady Golovkin in March 2017. Since signing for Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing USA, the Brooklyn-native has made no secret of his desire to return to the top of the division, and will get his chance to do so against the fundamentally sound Derevyanchenko on home territory.
After facing modest opposition in his previous two outings – both decision victories against Luis Arias and Maciej Sulecki – Derevyanchenko represents a significant step-up for Jacobs. The Ukrainian is a compact technician with notable punching power, and is considered to be one of the division’s most avoided operators.
The bout provides an interesting side note, with both men under the guidance of renowned New York trainer Andre Rozier and having spent countless hours in the ring as sparring partners throughout their careers. Rozier, who has spoken in the past about his reluctance for his two charges to face off, has unsurprisingly sided with his long-term client in Jacobs.
With both fighters having such an intimate knowledge of the other, there are legitimate concerns over the potential for a stalemate – though both Jacobs and Derevyanchenko will no doubt look to utilise such information and experience in order to expose each other’s weaknesses.
Since dropping a decision to Golovkin, Jacobs has made no secret of his desire to set the record straight in a rematch with the Kazakh. However, with ‘GGG’ set to renew hostilities in a big-money rematch of his own with Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez on September 15th, any such opportunity is unlikely for Jacobs in the near future.
Derevyanchenko, nicknamed ‘The Technician’ due to his well-schooled Eastern European skill-set, is another with Golovkin in his sights. After being made mandatory for Golovkin’s IBF belt, Derevyanchenko was shunned in favour of last-minute replacement Vanes Matirosyan, following the cancellation of the originally-slated May rematch between Alvarez and Golovkin.
Golovkin was subsequently stripped by the governing body, with Derevyanchenko and Jacobs mandated to square off for the vacant title.
With WBO champion Billy Joe Saunders facing off against American slickster Demetrius Andrade on October 20th in Boston, the winner of Jacobs-Derevyanchenko would prove a viable proposition for a poential unification bout. However, with a triumvirate of well-matched, interesting bouts scheduled for the fall, it would be foolhardy for any fighter to look beyond the task at hand.
Article by: Andi Purewal
Follow Andi on Twitter at: @AndiPurewal