In the main event held at the Centre Videotron in Quebec City, Canada, Frenchman Christian “Solide” Mbilli (28-0-0, 23 KOs) decisively outpointed Ukrainian Sergiy “The Technician” Derevyanchenko (15-6-0, 10 KOs) to successfully defend his WBC Continental Americas super middleweight title. It was a dominant performance by the Cameroonian-born puncher, aided by an injury that forced his opponent to minimize the use of his left arm in the second half of the fight. The judges’ final scorecards read 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92, all in favor of Mbilli.
From the opening bell, Derevyanchenko displayed an awareness of his rival’s physicality and danger, willingly accepting the unfamiliar role of outfighter, moving quickly along the ropes. However, the Ukrainian’s superior technical skills were not enough to neutralize Mbilli’s brute power in the early rounds. The Frenchman took the first three rounds thanks to the greater impact of his punches, even visibly shaking Derevyanchenko with a vicious right hook in the second round.
To break his opponent’s momentum, The Technician had to rely on his full arsenal, delivering a sensational fourth round filled with constant movement, evasions, and quick counterattacks. It was a small boxing masterpiece, but one that came at a high energy cost, which was realistically unsustainable for long, especially for a 39-year-old fighter like the Ukrainian.
Indeed, Mbilli resumed finding openings to continue his demolition work in the following round and unleashed a relentless assault in the sixth, testing Derevyanchenko’s physical limits. As if that weren’t enough, the unfortunate Ukrainian suffered another setback, returning to his corner at the end of the round, shaking his left hand in a manner suggesting an injury.
This impression was confirmed by what followed: Derevyanchenko began using his right arm almost exclusively and at times adopted a southpaw stance to throw jabs with the only functional hand he had left. Despite this handicap, the ring veteran incredibly managed to land a solid right hand on his opponent in the seventh round, timing it perfectly. Although Mbilli was momentarily frozen and had to absorb a few more quick blows in succession, he regained his composure and resumed controlling the fight.
The final rounds were filled with immense suffering for The Technician, but he stoically gritted his teeth and made it to the final bell without capitulating, even managing to finish the fight on the attack. Nevertheless, there was no doubt about the final outcome: in the writer’s opinion, the Ukrainian only managed to win the fourth round.
This fight did not reveal much new about either of the boxers involved. Christian Mbilli’s strengths and weaknesses were reaffirmed, showing him as extraordinarily gifted physically but still technically incomplete. Derevyanchenko’s colossal bad luck was also confirmed—a fighter who deserved much more in his career but was once again let down by misfortune, finding himself with a disabled arm at the crucial moment of the match.