Sergiy Derevyanchenko vs. Canelo Alvarez? Derevyanchenko vs. Jermall Charlo? Boxing fans would embrace either matchup. And one or the other appears to be a realistic possibility.
BoxingScene.com is reporting that Derevyanchenko has received offers to fight Alvarez at 168 pounds on Sept. 12, around Mexican Independence Day, and Charlo sometime in the fall for Charlo’s 160-pound title.
Derevyanchenko (13-2, 10 KOs) is the No. 1 challenger to Charlo’s title and is coming off a close decision loss against Gennadiy Golovkin for a vacant 160-pound belt in October but has fought above that weight in nine of his 15 fights, meaning he would probably be comfortable at either weight.
The skillful, rugged Ukrainian would be an intriguing opponent for either Alvarez or Charlo.
Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs) was scheduled to challenge for Billy Joe Saunders’ super middleweight title on May 2 in Las Vegas but those plans were scrapped after the coronavirus pandemic took hold. Saunders reportedly is now balking at the money available to fight Alvarez.
Derevyanchenko doesn’t present the opportunity to win a title in a fourth division but, after his strong performances against Daniel Jacobs (SD loss) and Golovkin (UD), he’s perceived as a legitimate threat to anyone at or near 160 pounds.
Alvarez also reportedly has considered former two-time 168-pound titleholder Anthony Dirrell, who is coming off a knockout loss (in part because of a cut) against David Benavidez in September.
Charlo (30-0, 22 KOs) hasn’t faced a top-tier opponent since he stopped Julian Williams at 154-pounds in December 2016. As a middleweight, he has fought Jorge Sebastian Heiland, Hugo Centeno Jr., Matvey Korobov, Brandon Adams and Dennis Hogan.
Charlo needs an opponent of Derevyanchenko’s stature to build some momentum.
Chris Eubank Jr. had been thought to be a leading candidate to challenge Charlo but, in light of the BoxingScene.com report, it appears that Derevyanchenko is the fight the product of Houston wants most.