Gennadiy Golovkin vs. Sergiy Derevyanchenko – official weights

By Boxing News - 10/04/2019 - Comments

By Matt Lieberman: Gennadiy Golovkin weighed in at 159.2 pounds while his opponent Sergiy Derevyanchenko came in at 159 for their weigh-in on Friday for the vacant IBF middleweight title in New York. The fighters weighed in early without the media or the public present. The rest of the card will be weighing in at 3:00 p.m., ET.

Golovkin-Derevyanchenko weigh-in without media present

It’s unclear why the fighters weighed in without the media or public at the weigh-in to watch. One explanation would be concern whether GGG or Derevyanchenko might have had problems with making weight.

For Golovkin, the bigger fighter of the two, it would be more advantageous for him to weigh-in earlier. It wouldn’t have been good for either fighter to have missed weight for this important match.

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Although the IBF title isn’t that important for Golovkin, given that Saul Canelo Alvarez doesn’t want to fight him, it’s still a key chess piece for him. Dereyanchenko needs the IBF title to get important fights against Canelo, WBO champion Demetrius Andrade and WBC champ Jermall Charlo.

Golovkin looked painfully thin this week

GGG looked badly drained on Wednesday from cutting weight. His appearance was thin, and he had dark rings under both eyes. Clearly, the strain of dropping water weight was showing on Golovkin.

Derevyanchenko looked thin with dark circles under both eyes as well. These two middleweights had to go through a lot in making weight.

Golovkin (39-1-1, 35 KOs) and the #1 IBF ranked Derevyanchenko (13-1, 10 KOs) will be fighting this Saturday night on October 5 on DAZN at Madison Square Garden in New York. The vacant IBF 160-lb crown will be at stake for this interesting fight.

Derevyanchenko looking for big upset

“It’s not even an upset. The young man comes from a pedigree of boxing in Europe, and is A number 1,” said Derevyanchenko’s trainer Andre Rozier to The Ring Digital. “He knows how to fight, and he’s been with us since he landed in the United States, and he has an American flair now. And, of course, he’s got the technique with the defensive circle. That’s all I’m going to say about it. Listen, that’s not true,” said Rozier when asked if Derevyanchenko has the power to keep GGG off of him.

“In all his bouts, he’s knocked out some people who haven’t been knocked out, and stopped them early. The man can do what he’s got to do. He’s got to jab with the jabber, and do what’s good for Sergiy, which is his fluidity, his technique and articulation in the ring. Once he does that, it’s going to be nothing but smooth sailing,” said Rozer.

It won’t be a huge upset if Derevyanchenko beats Golovkin. GGG is looking beatable now, and he doesn’t have the inside game that he needs for him to beat guys like Saul Canelo Alvarez. Derevyanchenko is an excellent inside fighter, and he’s got the talent to work Golovkin over in close.

We saw Derevyanchenko repeatedly taken the fight to the inside against Daniel Jacobs last year, and he was effective. Golovkin is in the boat as Sergey Kovalev in not being able to fight at close range against skillful fighters.

GGG doesn’t have holes in his game says Rozier

“There’s not really any holes, but there are moments where he’s not consistent,” said Rozier about Golovkin showing flaws in his game. “He doesn’t have holes, and he’s one of my favorite fighters.

“Listen, I’m about to make him my nephew now, because this is the third time I’ve seen him. This is going to be a wonderful fight with pure entertainment. It’s going to be 12 rounds of fantastic boxing,” said Rozier.

Rozier is being kind by not pointing out that Golovkin does have holes in his game. Those holes are as follows:

  • GGG can’t fight on the inside
  • Unable to throw combinations
  • Slow hand speed
  • Slow in making adjustments
  • Poor at cutting off the ring