On June 8th Golden Boy Promotions hosted the final press conference for the Munguia-Derevyanchenko card happening this weekend on June 10th in the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.
Boxing legend, Bernard Hopkins, opened the event up with encouraging words for the fighters, “This is your chance to let those who don’t know, know who you are. Don’t take this for granted.
“There’s a lot of talent here on this stage. I know, from my experience, that there’s champions brewing, as well as legends, but one step at a time… Look at it this way, this is where you get your commercial.”
The first fighter to take the podium was Super-Welterweight southpaw, Anthony Saldivar (3-0, 1 KO). As an Ontario local, he is likely the boxer most familiar with the Toyota Arena since he used to work there rearranging the court for various other sporting events before debuting less than a year ago in June 2022. He now has the honor of showcasing his own athletic abilities in the arena where he once worked.
Second to take the podium was undefeated super-featherweight, Jorge Chavez. With a record of 6 victories and 5 knockouts, the San Diego native is certainly one to watch out for. Chavez fought three times in 2022, and will be fighting his third of this year with this bout on June 10th. Chavez goes into this fight with confidence after dropping his opponents to the canvas in all six of his past bouts.
Last up was Ricardo “El Niño” Sandoval (21-2, 16 KOs). Sandoval experienced his second defeat in his professional career when he faced David Jiménez in July of last year. This bout marked Sandoval's sole fight in 2022, and he lost to Jiménez according to the scorecards. Earlier this year, Sandoval made a successful comeback by defeating Jerson Ortiz in a match that ended in the second round, securing a victory for himself in February. He hopes to start a streak with the coming fight.
Shane Mosley Jr. (19-4, 10 KOs) and D’Mitrius Ballard (21-1-1, 13 KOs) are the stars of the co-main event. Their upcoming bout will be for the NABO middleweight title. Both Mosley Jr. and Ballard have fought 23 professional bouts. Ballard holds the advantage as he has won 21 bouts and knocked out 13 opponents, while Mosley Jr. has 19 victories and 10 knockouts under his belt. Notably, Ballard’s only loss comes at the hands of Jaime Munguia, who is one of the main event fighters of the weekend.
Mosley Jr. showed the utmost respect to his opponent, “D’Mitrius is an excellent opponent, his only loss was to this man [Munguia] next to me. He’s an excellent fighter.”
Ballard was just as courteous towards his opposition, “Shane’s coming off back-to-back wins, he’s really been improving. This is the perfect opportunity to get my name back out there.”
The cordial environment continued with the main event’s fighters. When asked why Sergiy “The Technician” Derevyanchenko (14-4, 10 KOs) took the fight against Jaime Munguia (41-0, 33 KOs), he said that it was the best fight for him and the clear option. In an exclusive interview with ProBox TV, Derevyanchenko mentioned that he doesn’t feel any pressure fighting Munguia in his backyard. He feels comfortable fighting against the odds since all of his fights have been in the U.S.
“The Technician” also expressed his admiration for the Mexican fighter, “He’s a true fighter, always applying pressure and solid combinations. Every time he fights it’s pressure, pressure, pressure.”
When asked whether he thinks Munguia and his team are overlooking him, he stated, “I do not worry about Munguia or his team overlooking me. That is a problem for Munguia and his team; that's their problem, not mine. I am focused on the fight, so on Saturday, we will see."
Derevyanchenko opened up about his next desired opponent if he wins the bout, “Of course, I would like to fight Canelo. Right now every fighter wants to fight him. Now anytime someone wins they say, ‘I want to fight Canelo.’ Of course I want to fight Canelo.”
Both fighters have a massive amount of respect for each other, Jaime Munguia stated that this would be the toughest fight of his career. Both Munguía and Derevyanchenko, who typically compete in the 160 lbs weight class, are moving up a weight division for this upcoming bout.
This is a crucial showcase for both fighters. There is a belief that Munguía will finally face the test he desired in confronting three-time world-title challenger Sergiy Derevyancheko, following back-to-back mismatched bouts against lesser opponents than originally intended. Derevyanchenko is aiming to win back-to-back fights for the first time since starting his professional career 12-0 between his July 2014 debut and March 2018.
