Sergiy Derevyanchenko vs Jack Culcay Preview April 13th
Sergiy Derevyanchenko of Ukraine will be taking on Ecuador’s Jack Culcay this Saturday, April 13th in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The 12-round middleweight bout can be seen live in North America on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Deportes. Derevyanchenko last fought in October when he lost his first pro fight via a split decision to his Brooklyn, New York stablemate Daniel Jacobs in a tilt for the vacant IBF Middleweight Title. Culcay, who now fights out of Florida, last fought in September when he stopped Rafael Bajaran in the 10th round for the vacant IBF International Middleweight Crown.
Derevyanchenko vs Culcay Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Jack Culcay +1100
- Sergiy Derevyanchenko -1400
My Pick
Derevyanchenko is 32 years old and now fights out of Brooklyn. He’ll climb through the ropes with a fine record of 12-1 along with 10 big Kos. He’s relatively small for a middleweight at 5-foot-9 and has a reach of 67.5 inches. Derevyanchenko has boxed just 69 rounds since turning pro in 2014 and that’s mainly due to his current knockout ratio of 77 per cent. He enjoyed a fine amateur career before turning pro and boxed at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China as well as in the World Series of Boxing.
There’s no doubt Derevyanchenko has good power, but he hasn’t had the chance to prove it against anybody in the upper level of the middleweight division as of yet other than Jacobs. So far, he’s beaten the likes of Dashon Johnson, Raul Munoz, Tureano Johnson, Jessie Nicklow, Sam Soliman, Kemahl Russell and Elvin Ayala. He definitely took a step up in class against Jacobs and came close to winning the fight.
The 33-year-old Culcay also fought in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China where he competed for Germany and went 95-28-3 as an amateur. In fact, he lost to Demetrius Andrade at in the quarterfinals of the 2007 World Championships. He enters Saturday’s fight with an impressive record of 25-3 with 13 Kos. He’s fought 210 rounds since turning pro in 2009 and has average power with a current knockout percentage of 46 per cent.
Culcay is even smaller than his opponent at just over 5-feet-7-inches tall with an unlisted reach. This gives him a slight 1.5-inch height disadvantage. Even though Culcay has been European and WBA interim world champion, the average boxing fan isn’t going to recognize any of his opponents other than Andrade and Maciej Sulecki, who both beat him. Andrade’s win was by split decision and Sulecki’s was unanimous in two consecutive fights in 2017.
Andrade was also the WBA Junior Middleweight Champ at the time and his other loss was to Guido Nicolas Pitto by 12-round split decision in April of 2013. Culcay has won several regional and minor titles as a pro as well including the European Light Middleweight Belt. He also won the 2009 World Amateur Championship where he competed as a welterweight.
Prediction…
Culcay is a bit of a brawler even though he has plenty of skills. He has a lot of heart and determination and the same can be said about Derevyanchenko. But if it turns into a slugfest then it will favour Derevyanchenko. I think when it’s said and done Derevyanchenko will emerge victorious but he definitely can’t afford to underestimate Culcay.
Culcay will give it a good shot, but fall short.
Play: Derevyanachenko -1400 @ BetOnline.ag
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Jack Culcay betting • Sergiy Derevyanchenko betting