A doubleheader pay-per-view was broadcast tonight on Showtime. In the first of the two headliners of the night, WBC world middleweight champion Jermall Charlo (31-0, 22 KOs) defended his title against top contender Sergiy Derevyanchenko (13-3, 10 KOs).

 

It was an excellent, competitive 12-round battle. Early, it was a tactical match as both men looked for openings. Sergiy smartly feinted a lot to keep Jermall guessing. Charlo’s jab was exceptional and kept Sergiy on the outside for a good part of the opening round.

 

As the rounds wore on, it was Charlo’s jab that perhaps stood out the most. It’s a true power jab—he often throws it while on his front foot and puts his whole body into it, like a ramrod. Most importantly, he used it in different ways.

 

Derevyanchenko began to take too many punches in the early rounds. By the fourth, he looked like he was being worn down.

 

Sergiy showed he was a dog, though, as he dealt with Jermall’s sharp combinations and angles; Sergiy battled through quite a bit of punishment and delivered some of his own shots that sometimes caught Jermall by surprise. Once again, Derevyanchenko proved  himself to be one of the top fighters at middleweight, win or lose. He’s a tough out for anybody at the weight.

 

Jermall Charlo looks like he stays in the gym with his tremendous coach Ronnie Shields. Despite a long layoff—he last fought in December—Jermall was sharp and had excellent defensive awareness. His skills in general looked improved since his last bout, and the one before that. It’s clear he and Shields are working hard on honing his craft, and it showed up in the ring.

 

Sergiy won a few rounds, and despite being competitive, he wasn’t able to overcome Jermall’s athleticism, sharp combinations, and positioning to win more than that. Occasionally he caught Jermall and once he hurt him to the body, but he wasn’t able to follow up and the younger man recovered.

 

Derevyanchenko suffered a deep cut over his right eye, and both eyes were swollen by the end. In the 12th, Jermall was tired and seemed to lose focus because of his fatigue—he got caught more than he was previously.

 

Jermall had built up enough of a lead, though, that it didn’t matter. He won a unanimous decision in a tough fight that proved he’s a true champion of the middleweight division, and that his skills are at such a high level that he very well might stay there for a long time.

 

Let’s hope we next get a unification bout between Jermall and one of the other champions at 160: Demetrius Andrade, Gennadiy Golovkin, or Canelo Alvarez (though I doubt Canelo will return to 160 after fighting at 168 and 175).

 

Earlier, Brandon Figueroa (21-0-1, 16 KOs) faced Damien Vazquez (15-2-1, 8 KOs) in an engaging and violent 122-pound fight.

 

Figueroa fought mostly in the southpaw stance. Vazquez started well, utilizing a great jab to prevent Figueroa from getting inside, where he likes to fight best. Figueroa got tagged a lot in the first, and in the second, Brandon seemed to have found his ticket: he began throwing to Vazquez’s body more.

 

Vazquez, who started so strong, began to breathe from his mouth. He was fading.

 

Vazquez kept trying, and occasionally he still landed some excellent punches on Figueroa. But it was too little too late, and Brandon Figueroa has a tremendous engine and his youth on his side—he was able to keep pushing Vazquez. Finally, the referee waved it off, rightly, in the 10th round.

 

In the first bout of the evening, 118-pound WBO world champion John Riel Casimero (30-4, 21 KOs) faced Duke Micah (24-1, 19 KOs).

 

In the first, the more athletic Casimero appeared to hurt Micah but the latter came back and landed some of his own damaging shots. Both men were throwing big power shots, loading up on their punches.

 

In round two, Casimero dropped Micah with a punch that took his legs. Micah made the count but he was wobbly. Casimero came on strong and tried to get him out of there, but Micah was tough and hung in there.

 

The doctor examined Micah at the beginning of round three and allowed him to continue.

 

To his credit, Micah truly tried and made a strong effort to not only come back but to hurt Casimero in return. But his legs weren’t fully back yet and after taking a couple more punches it was clear Micah was fighting on heart. The referee waved it off in the third.

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Results from Part 2 of Charlo Doubleheader PPV