Christian Mbilli is ready to position himself as the next heir to the super middleweight throne, and the first big test for the Canada-based French-Cameroonian contender comes in the form of Sergiy Derevyanchenko, the tough Ukrainian who’s nearly spoiled plenty of plans. 

The matchup will take place on Saturday night at the Centre Videotron in Quebec City, Canada on ESPN, and Derevyanchenko (15-5, 10 KOs) should be able to show what Mbilli (27-0, 23 KOs) is made of. 

The 38-year-old Derevyanchenko has seemingly always been the “bridesmaid instead of the bride” every time he’s faced world-class competition. The amateur standout’s professional losses have come against crème de la crème fighters like Gennadiy Golovkin, Jermall Charlo, Daniel Jacobs, Jaime Munguia, and Carlos Adames, all ending in close decision defeats. 

Derevyanchenko is coming into the fight against Mbilli having won his last matchup, a unanimous decision against Vaughn Alexander in April.

Mbilli, meanwhile, had an easy night at the office last time out in May, stopping Mark Heffron in just 40 seconds. 

Mbilli has big plans should he get past Derevyanchenko, and they include desired challenges against top dogs like Canelo Alvarez, David Benavidez, and Munguia – all of which are matchups Mbilli’s co-promoter Bob Arum is interested in making. 

“I am ready for the top guys at 168 pounds,” Mbilli told BoxingScene. 

“You have to be famous to get the big fights that you want. If you are very good but nobody knows you, it's difficult to have big fights. 

“To me, I think I am better than Munguia and all of the fighters Derevyanchenko has fought. I will prove I am the best. 

“When I beat Derevyanchenko, maybe Munguia could be next. I would be happy for either Munguia or Canelo Alvarez. Fighting Canelo Alvarez right now is the goal. He's the No. 1 guy. I want to be No. 1 and to do that you have to beat the best. Right now he's still the best super middleweight in the world. Fighting Canelo would be a great opportunity to show everybody I am the best super middleweight.” 

When Benavidez is discussed, Mbilli’s eyes light up, and he goes silent for a long stretch as he tries to find the right words to describe the carnage that could ensue during the potential clash.

“The Benavidez fight will be the best fight of history,” said Mbilli. “Because we both have styles that are the same – we attack all of the time. It would be the best fight of the last 10 years.”

Before Benavidez moved on to the light heavyweight division, earlier this year, his father and trainer Jose Benavidez Sr. showered Mbilli with plenty of praise and welcomed a fight. 

“Mbilli, that f***ing guy is a monster. He’s an animal, too,” said Benavidez Sr. “That's another guy we'd like to fight. That’s a dangerous fighter right there. I consider him more dangerous than [David] Morrell. He has more experience and has climbed the ladder on his own. He has proven himself.”

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.