Sizzling Ukrainian prospects Sergiy Derevyanchenko, Ievgen Khytrov headline 'ShoBox: The New Generation' card
As the influx of Eastern Europeans and Eurasians onto the U.S. boxing scene continues unabated, it's easy to confuse the true prospects from the pretenders.
Here's a mouthful of a name you should try to remember as the former: Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
Derevyanchenko hails from boxing-rich Ukraine, which lays claim to Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, Vasyl Lomachenko and Viktor Postol, among many others.
A 29-year-old middleweight, Derevyanchenko (5-0, 4 KOs) has relocated from his politically volatile home to a Russian section of Brooklyn, N.Y., with his wife and 5-year-old son. He amassed an amazing amateur record of 390-20, along with a 23-1 mark in the World Series of Boxing before turning pro last year.
Derevyanchenko is trained out of Brooklyn by Andre Rozier and Gary Stark Sr. Stark sees his fighter as a star in the making. And fans will get a chance to see Derevyanchenko in action Friday night in a 10-round middleweight tussle against veteran former world title challenger Elvin Ayala (28-6-1) on Showtime's ShoBox: the New Generation at 10 p.m. ET from Bally's in Atlantic City.
If you're wondering what type of fighter Derevyanchenko is, you need not look beyond his nickname: "The Technician." Like many Eastern Europeans, especially those with more than 400 amateur fights, he is a skilled boxer in the ring. And he trains in the same stable as another middleweight champion, Daniel Jacobs.
"Put it this way: He's technical. He's so technical," Stark said. "That's what I like about him. He's not the kind of kid that will make a mistake, and he's patient. He breaks you down to where he has you, then he finishes you. We call him "The Technician" because it's like he gets in the ring, he has a plan and he executes it.
"You're going to see Friday. He's going to be so sharp. We had a good camp, good sparring, he trains so hard, this kid. He's going to another level. He's beautiful to work with."
Derevyanchenko says being able to spar with Jacobs has been helpful.
"We'll see how much it helped me in the ring when I face Ayala," said Derevyanchenko, through translator and co-promoter Max Alperovich. "But certainly it brought a lot of value to my learning and preparation, and I worked with other top guys to prepare."
Don't expect to see Jacobs and the Ukrainian fight anytime soon, though. "I don't look at it like that," Stark said. "They're on the same team, and I don't like to see our guys fight each other."
Stark and Derevyanchenko both believe he's still one year or so and four or five fights away from fighting against the elite of the middleweight division, which is headed by Gennady Golovkin, from Kazakhstan. While Golovkin is considered the pinnacle of the division - the undefeated middleweight champ has knocked out 20 opponents in a row - Derevyanchenko knows he's not ready for GGG just yet.
"I want to take one step at a time, I feel like I'm ready just like any other boxer but I have a lot of respect for Golovkin," he said. "It all depends on how I do facing guys that I'm going to face prior to facing Golovkin. He's at the very top. And I have to do well against the other guys. When I face somebody I want to be dominant."
Derevyanchenko grew up watching the Klitschkos and has much respect for the future Hall of Fame brothers, but said they were not his heroes in the sport. So who was?
"Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr.," he said.
Co-headlining the show is another hot Ukrainian prospect, Ievgen "The Ukrainian Lion" Khytrov (10-0, 9 KOs), who faces Nick Brinson (17-3-2, 7 KOs). Khytrov, who fought in the London Olympics and was favored to win gold but lost to eventual champion Anthony Ogogo, compiled an even more amazing 480-20 amateur record.
"Sergiy and Ievgen are two of the truly elite prospects in all of boxing," promoter Lou DiBella said. "There isn't a doubt in my mind that they are the future of the middleweight division, and anything less than a world championship will be a disappointment for them. As long as they continue to win, and continue to impress with each victory, I see them knocking on the door to a world title in the next 12 to 18 months."