WBC Orders Jaime Munguia to Face Sergiy Derevyanchenko in Middleweight Title Eliminator

Jaime Munguia has been assigned his next opponent…

The 24-year-old Mexican boxer has been ordered to face Sergiy Derevyanchenko in a middleweight title eliminator by the WBC.

Jaime Munguia

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told ESPN that if no deal is struck by September 17, a purse bid will be ordered.

Munguia had been on a collision course with Gabe Rosado for a fall fight before the WBC made the announcement.

If the fight takes place, the winner would become the mandatory challenger to Jermall Charlo, the WBC champion at 160 pounds. However, there’s no guarantee Munguia (37-0, 30 KOs) will go through with the fight.

“Munguia just found out [about the Derevyanchenko possibility],” Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez told ESPN. “He’s going to circle back with us early next week.”

Munguia, a former 154-pound champion, is 3-0 (with three knockouts) since moving up to 160 pounds in January 2020. Despite his experience, Munguia is still raw. He’s clearly improving, though, as he raises his level of competition.

Munguia packs plenty of power and applies nonstop pressure. ESPN’s No. 4 middleweight is also big and strong for the division. If he fights Derevyanchenko, a longtime 160-pounder, Munguia will still easily be the bigger man.

Derevyanchenko (13-3, 10 KOs) has lost two in a row and three of his past four. However, all three losses came against elite competition. The Ukrainian dropped a split decision to Daniel Jacobs in a 2018 middleweight title fight. The following year, Derevyanchenko fought Gennadiy Golovkin in a brutal title bout, one of the best action fights of 2019. GGG won via unanimous decision, but the verdict was disputed by many.

Against Charlo, ESPN’s No. 6 middleweight wasn’t all that competitive. The 35-year-old hasn’t competed since that September 2020 outing.

Dusty Hernández-Harrison to Fight WBO Middleweight Champ Demetrius Andrade in November

Dusty Hernández-Harrison is taking on a champ…

The 26-year-old Puerto Rican professional boxer will fight WBO middleweight champ Demetrius Andrade in a 10-round non-title fight on November 27 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

Dusty Hernández-Harrison

The card, which also features former two-time titlist Daniel Jacobs vs. Gabe Rosado, will take place without fans in attendance due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Andrade (29-0, 18 KOs) is fighting for the first time since he stopped Luke Keeler with a ninth-round TKO in January.

The undefeated Harrison (34-0-1, 20 KOs) sees this as a chance to stamp himself as a world-class fighter.

“This is the opportunity I have been waiting for my entire life,” Harrison said. “This is why I started boxing. All of the time I have dedicated to this sport, I finally get my opportunity to show the world who I am and what I am capable of. … Demetrius talks a big game and says he is the boogeyman of the division, but who has he fought?”

Harrison said he isn’t impressed by Andrade.

“He goes out, fights whoever it is, runs around the ring, picks up a win and goes back to running his mouth,” Harrison said. “He says that he is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. OK, so be it. On November 27, I take his spot.

“I know that people are going to doubt me going into this fight, and that is fine. That fuels my energy. Keep doubting me. Andrade doesn’t know what he got himself into. He better be ready when we step into that ring because I’m coming for him.”