The boxing world is through with two major cards in August. A week after the Terrence Crawford–Israil Madrimov fight, Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Serhii Bohachuk‘s ‘fight of the year’ contender followed. Many fans will be looking forward to the Floyd Mayweather Jr.–John Gotti III exhibition. And perhaps most would be eagerly awaiting both Naoya Inoue and Canelo Alvarez‘s title defenses. But amidst this hectic calendar, a non-world-title line-up might have slipped through fans’ radars. One of the most evenly matched fixtures, the Top Rank show will see Christian M’billi go against Sergiy Derevyanchenko on August 17 at Quebec City’s Centre Videotron.

The two fight for M’billi’s WBC Continental Americas super middleweight title. The event will showcase roughly nine bouts. Among the fighters, some of the names fans might recognize include the heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov and the lightweight Abdullah Mason. Ahead of their clash, let’s explore how Christian M’billi and Sergiy Derevyanchenko are matched up against each other.

Christian M’billi vs. Sergiy Derevyanchenko: Stats Showdown

Born in Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé, Christian M’billi, who now lives in France’s Loire-Atlantique, turned 29 on April 26 this year. With a height of 5 feet and 8 and a half inches, or 174 centimeters, M’billi appears slightly shorter than his opponent, who stands at 5 feet and 9 inches, or 175 centimeters. But the Cameroonian-French fighter makes up for it with a clear advantage when it comes to hand reach. While he extends his hands to 72 inches or 183 centimeters, Sergiy Derevyanchenko’s record shows his reach stretches to 67 1/2 inches or 171 centimeters.

Both fighters have yet to complete the weigh-in formalities. Hence, any mention of their current weights could be mere conjecture. Otherwise, in his last fight against Mark Heffron, Christian M’billi weighed around 166.7 pounds. Likewise, Sergiy Derevyanchenko recorded 167.4 pounds against Vaughn Alexander.

M’billi, who goes by the moniker “Solide,” made his professional debut seven years ago. Thus far, he has participated in 27 fights. He is yet to suffer a loss. Of his wins, 23 came via knockouts, thus leaving him with a knock-to-win rate of 85.19%. At the opposite corner, Sergiy Derevyanchenko took up professional boxing in 2014 after an extensive amateur career that saw him win a bronze medal in the 2007 Chicago World Championships. Thus far, ‘The Technician’ has participated in 20 bouts, emerging as a winner in 15. With ten of his triumphs secured through early stoppages, Derevyanchenko enjoys a knockout-to-win rate of nearly 67%.

Christian M’billi vs. Sergiy Derevyanchenko: Punch for Punch

With -440 odds on winning, Christian M’billi seems to be the betting favorite against Sergiy Derevyanchenko, who will enter the ring as an underdog with +320 odds. Perhaps the past record may have swayed the bookmakers’ assessment in favor of the Cameroonian-French boxer. With three fights in 2022 and two each in 2023 and 2024, ‘Solide’ appears to be the busier fighter in comparison to Derevyanchenko. Not only that, he dispatched the last three of his opponents early in their fights. Especially the May title defense against Heffron wound up in the opening round itself.

On the other hand, the Ukrainian-born boxer, who now lives in Brooklyn, hasn’t been so lucky in terms of improving his game. Participating in one fight per year since 2020, three of ‘The Technician’s five career losses came during the duration. To his credit, it could be said that Sergiy Derevyanchenko’s losses were incurred during his attempts at world titles against reigning champions. Thus far, he has made three charges, with the first one coming in 2018 for the IBF middleweight title. But Daniel Jacobs dashed his plans. A year later, Gennady Golovkin spoiled the party. In 2020, the fight with Jermall Charlo also proved no exception.

Last year, climbing up to 168 pounds, he met Jaimie Munguia for the WBC silver super middleweight title. It appeared ‘The Technician’ joined the dance with his life at stake. Going full-throttle, he responded back to the heavy-hitting Mexican, punch for punch. It goes without saying that Sergiy Derevyanchenko has one of the strongest chins in the boxing world. Despite the five losses, he has yet to suffer a knockout or early stoppage. If Munguia hadn’t managed to score that knockdown in the championship round, then, in all probability, the fight’s decision would have been different.

Speaking with ‘Boxingscene’, Christian M’billi said, “I see a very tough fight. I’m either going to knock him out or have a unanimous decision. I’m going to put everything I have into the fight. It’s going to be a spectacular fight.” Currently the number one ranked boxer on the WBC roster, ‘Solide’ stands second in the WBA and third in the IBF and WBO rankings. Hence, a win is a must for him if he wishes for a title challenge. If not Canelo Alvarez, who knows? There’s a good chance he might get into a fight with Jaime Munguia.

But perhaps the triumph could be more significant for Sergiy Derevyanchenko. On October 31, he will turn 39. Thus, he is at the twilight stage of his career. Though he couldn’t succeed in winning a world championship, grabbing an international title might help him improve his rankings and allow him to push for a world title.

Christian M’billi vs. Sergiy Derevyanchenko: Money Talks

According to ‘NY Fights’, Christian M’billi might receive a guaranteed purse of roughly $500,000. In his last fight against Heffron, he took home around $350,000. Likewise, Sergiy Derevyanchenko might also pocket a decent amount. For the Munguia fight, he received a guaranteed payout of $400,000. So it suggested that for Saturday’s fight, he could bag nearly $425,000. Reportedly, the PPV share was split equally between the two fighters. So if the pay-per-view buyouts cross over $600,000, there is a chance the paychecks could breach the million-dollar benchmark, with M’billi potentially earning $2 million and Derevyanchenko earning $1.2 million.

Who is your pick for the win between Sergiy Derevyanchenko and Christian M’billi?