Christian Mbilli beats Sergiy Derevyanchenko in a unanimous decision win in Quebec City

QUEBEC CITY — When people say boxing is a young man’s sport, they usually have a night like this in mind.

Christian Mbilli, a young, hungry and powerful fighter waiting for his turn, has followed a respected but aging former title challenger in Sergiy Derevychaneko. Derevyanchenko, nine years Mbilli’s senior, knew what he had to do to slow down the relentless Mbilli, but at 38, his body wasn’t responding the way it used to.

That’s the way boxing has been since its earliest days. Just as veterans had made their names as prime fighters during their ascension, so too are many of them stepping stones to the next generation.

Billi scored the winningest goal to date in his young career on Saturday, defeating the three-time title winner by unanimous decision at the Center Videotron in Quebec City, Canada. The scores were 100-90, 99-91 and 98-92, all for Mbilli (28-0, 23 knockouts), a native of Cameroon, France raised the slugger who has become a fan favorite in Canada’s French-speaking province of Quebec.

Billi set the tone for the fight in the first 30 seconds, landing a hard right that Derevyanchenko took well. But when Mbilli began to attack Derevyanchenko’s body, head opportunities opened up, including a jab that briefly rocked Derevyanchenko in the second round. By the third round, Mbilli’s powerful blows had swollen Derevyanchenko’s face.

As if Derevyanchenko needed another mountain to climb, his left hand was sidelined in the fourth due to a suspected bicep injury. The injury meant, Derevyanchenko was not only unable to stop Mbilli, nor could he raise his glove to block the right hands that had been landing on Derevyanchenko since the opening round. At the end of the fourth, Derevyanchenko waved his left arm and shook his head as he returned to his corner.

Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Position

It would have been understandable if Derevyanchenko would have realized he no longer had a chance to compete in the fight due to injury and put it in, but that’s not how the Brooklyn-based Ukrainian is wired. Instead he fought like a one-armed fighter, throwing uppercuts and straight rights, and even switched to southpaw in round 7 so he could hit with his right jab. It was in the seventh that Derevyanchenko made his last significant stand, surprising Mbilli with a short right hand and opening a combination in an attempt to press the advantage. After weathering the short storm, Mbilli smiled and opened fire on her spirited enemy. By the end of the seventh, Mbilli had badly hurt Derevyanchenko, landing a right hand that sent him reeling back into the corner.

In the second half of the fight, it was Mbilli’s turn to feel the wear and tear that comes with fighting for prizes, revealing in a post-fight press conference that he injured his left shoulder early in the fight, reducing its effectiveness as a weapon. In a battle between one armed man, the strongest warrior was stronger. Billi didn’t stop looking for the knockout punch, pounding Derevyanchenko until the final bell rang.

“He is a hero. He was in a difficult situation, but he fought back,” said Mbilli, who is a 2016 French Olympian.

Derevyanchenko’s trainer Andre Rozier defended his decision to let the fight go ahead, saying he respects his striker’s wishes.

I said, ‘Do you want me to stop this fight?’ he said no. “That’s the mark of a hero, he went on to fight one of the 168 best stylists in the world with one hand,” Rozier said.

Derevyanchenko, who pushed Danny Jacobs and Gennadiy Golovkin to final world title fights, has always defied defeat.

“He’s a good boxer, a strong boxer,” Derevyanchenko said of Mbilli. “But if I had two hands, I think it would be a different situation.”

Billi, who is brought together by Eye of the Tiger Management and Top Rank, is ranked no. 1 by the WBC at 168 pounds and is the top contender in three other bantamweight divisions. He believes he has done enough to prove himself as the best champion left in United super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs), who will face Edgar Berlanga on September 14 in Las Vegas.

“Right now, I’m ready for big fights. I want to be a world champion. I know that to be the best, I have to beat the best. I don’t want to say any names, but everyone knows who is the best. I want a fight with number 1,” said Mbilli.

“After that [Canelo-Berlanga]I think I will be ready for him.”