By: Hans Themistode

Naming the best fighter in the middleweight division is conjecture. But more times than not, the conclusion is the same. Either Canelo Alvarez or Gennadiy Golovkin usually gets the nod.

But while those two fighters receive much of the fanfare, a stoic, six feet tall Houston native with a bad attitude has been making his own case. 

“I’m the best in the world,” said Charlo during a recent ShowTime press conference. “Saturday you guys will get a chance to see it.”

In what will be his first Pay-Per-View headlining event, Charlo (30-0, 22 KOs) takes on the highly ranked Sergiy Derevyanchenko this Saturday night.

For Charlo, many have considered this matchup a major step up for him. Up until this point, he’s bulldozed through his competition.

A win over Hugo Centeno Jr. may have netted him a world title in 2017, but the respect that’s normally associated with it never came. A victory against Derevyanchenko though, is one that he desperately wants.

For the Ukrainian native on the other hand, his record is stained with two failed attempts to wrap championship gold around his waist.

In his first world title bid in late 2018, Derevyanchenko saw himself hit the canvas early during his bout against Daniel Jacobs, only to rally back before falling short on the judges scorecards. Roughly one year later, history would repeat itself in a cruel way. Derevyanchenko once again picked himself up off the deck, this time against Gennadiy Golovkin, before seeing his second half rally fall just short once again. 

Becoming a world champion is something that the 34 year old still dreams of becoming. And while any title will do, there’s something about the color of Charlo’s belt in particular that seemingly goes perfect with the Ukrainians wardrobe.

“The green color of the belt suits me,” said Derevyanchenko. 

Charlo could have easily gone back and forth with his main event opponent. But trading insults isn’t what he considers fun, he would much rather trade punches in the ring.

“Talk is cheap. 30 of them tried and 30 of them failed.”

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