Jermall Charlo On Derevyanchenko Challenge – “Talk Is Cheap”

Just days ahead of his WBC World Middleweight Title defense, unbeaten Jermall Charlo had a clear message for his battle tested challenger, Sergiy Derevyanchenko for Saturday night.

The two shared the stage at the Mohegan Sun Casino in advance of their Showtime PPV showdown Saturday and the champ came straight to the point:

“This is just the beginning. 30 of them tried (to beat him), 30 of the failed. We’ll get a chance to get in there and do what we got to do on Saturday. Talk is cheap. What’s your mind frame? We’ll see where the ‘green belt (WBC)’ goes?,” Charlo told the limited media on site and those watching via social media and Zoom.

For his part, in his limited Ukranian broken English, Derevyanchenko had joked that “the green color of the belt, suits me” just before Charlo made his statement.

Charlo was last in the ring in December with a 7th round TKO win over Dennis Hogan in his third, 160 lb. title defense, which got him to the 30 victory mark without a loss. But, this would be considered his toughest Middleweight opponent to date.

Derevyanchenko  13-2, 10 KOs pushed IBF Middleweight Champion, Gennady Golovkin, to the limit  in a 12 round split decision loss last October. And, he also previously challenged for the IBF portion of the 160 lb. title and lost another close decision to Daniel Jacobs in 2018.

The Charlo-Derevyanchenko bout will be part of an historic Showtime pay per view, as it will start in the afternoon Saturday, have 5 total World Title fights, take a 30 minute intermission, and then finish up with Jermell Charlo headlining in a Jr. Middleweight World Title match up.

WBC 154 lb. champion Charlo is 33-1, and will battle Jeison Rosario, 20-1-1, who is the WBA/IBF champion, in a unification bout at 154 lb. Rosario upset Julian “J Rock” Williams by 5th round stoppage in January to secure two of the titles.

The Charlo Brothers have previously headlined and defended their World Championships on the same PBC Card on Fox Sports back in December of 2018. This will be Showtime’s first foray into Pay-per-view boxing since last year.

And, while there has been some criticism of the price ($74.99), the Charlos have a chance to make it a worthwhile, if they both are impressive winners.