Jacobs vs. Derevyanchenko in Play for 10/20

The IBF Middleweight title will be on the line when Daniel Jacobs and Sergiy Derevyanchenko come to blows this October. Both Jacobs and Derevyanchenko have been on the shortlist for Middleweight king Gennady Golovkin for some time, but with Golovkin’s impending rematch with Saul Alvarez and prior refusal to make a mandatory defense with Derevyanchenko last May, the IBF vacated the title.

Though Jacobs and Derevyanchenko have been willing to fight each other in the past, many believed that the fight would not come to pass due to them sharing Andre Rozier as a trainer. Rozier had come out in the past saying that he would be working with Jacobs should the fight materialize.

Derevyanchenko has shown a lot of promise despite only have 12 professional fights, but he is going to be taking a tremendous step up standing across the ring from Jacobs. Jacobs has won two in a row since dropping a hotly contested decision to Golovkin in 2017 and has looked every bit as a top Middleweight in the wake of the loss. Then again, Derevyanchenko is probably more of a challenge than unproven contenders Luis Arias and Maciej Sulecki, and spending time with Jacobs and Rozier in training camp may give the undefeated prospect some confidence for their clash.

While no venue or formal announcement has been made, HBO is expected to televise the bout as the last fight of their three fight agreement with Jacobs.