Sergiy Derevyanchenko (11-0, 9 KOs) remained unbeaten as he stopped Tureano Johnson (20-2, 14 KOs) in the 12th and final round of their middleweight world title eliminator that headlined a special Friday night edition of Premier Boxing Champions TOE-TO-TOE TUESDAYS on FS1 and BOXEO DE CAMPEONES on FOX Deportes.
Derevyanchenko put himself in line for a world title shot with an impressive stoppage of the durable contender Johnson in their bout from Main Street – in front of historic Coleman Theater – in Miami, Oklahoma.
“I’m very happy with my performance,” said Derevyanchenko. “I did exactly what we worked on in training and broke him down to get the knockout.”
“I’m very disappointed,” said Johnson. “But I give a lot of credit to Derevyanchenko and congratulate him on his performance tonight.”
Johnson was aggressive from the start, positioning himself right in front of his opponent while trying to throw punches from orthodox and southpaw stances. Derevyanchenko was able to sustain the pressure and use a steady jab to create enough space to unload big power shots on Johnson.
The third round saw Derevyanchenko’s offense break through as he was able to land multiple punches to the head while Johnson could only try to cover up. After falling behind in the first half of the fight, Johnson upped the aggression in rounds six and seven and was able to have more success landing series of hooks through Derevyanchenko’s own offense.
However, in round eight Derevyanchenko returned to relying on his jab and was once again able to create the space to land strong shots and got the best of multiple exchanges. Derevyanchenko continued to show off impressive combos until finally breaking down Johnson for good in the 12th round with a ferocious combination that included three clean left hooks to the head.
“He was very tough and took a lot of punches,” said Derevyanchenko. “Maybe the fight could have been stopped earlier but I was always ready to go the distance.”
Johnson was sent down and referee Gary Ritter immediately called a halt to the bout 40 seconds into the final round.
“I’m ready to fight the winner of Golovkin vs. Canelo for the title,” said Derevyanchenko. “I think that Golovkin will win and I look forward to fighting him next.”
The co-main event of the telecast saw once-beaten Hugo Centeno Jr. (26-1, 14 KOs) deliver a highlight reel knockout of previously undefeated Immanuwel Aleem (17-1, 10 KOs) in the third round of their middleweight matchup.
Centeno Jr. looked to use his 6’1″ frame to hurt Aleem from a distance as he circled the ring and stayed on the outside until attacking with a combination. Aleem came out dedicated to throwing huge left hooks to the body and worked to stay on the inside against the taller opponent.
Aleem upped the aggression in the second and third rounds, but Centeno Jr. stayed calm and slowly began to time the charging Aleem. A Centeno uppercut in round two was the first shot that got the attention of Aleem, who was coming in to this bout off of a knockout victory over Ievgen Khytrov in a Fight of the Year candidate from January.
Late in the third round, Centeno Jr. landed a perfect left hook on the button just as Aleem tried to throw his own left hand and sent Aleem crashing to the canvas. Referee Gerald Ritter counted Aleem out as the fight was officially ended 2:27 into the round and Centeno walked away with a victory that will likely garner Knockout of the Year consideration.
