The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Fight night is just over three weeks away and Ukranian middleweight Sergiy Derevianchenko's camp have expressed confidence in their game plan for the impending matchup with Bahamian pro Tureano Johnson.

Johnson and Derevianchenko will square off on August 25 for the right to be the No.1 contender in the IBF middleweight division and bid to challenge for the title.

Derevianchenko's trainers, Andre Rozier and Gary Stark Jr., recently discussed their expectations of the bout and their preparation thus far.

"We've faced Tureano in the past and we know exactly what he brings to the table. What we are doing right now is fine-tuning the elements that will make Sergiy more effective in this bout. We know he [Tureano] is tough, we know he comes to fight, we know he is going to bring everything he can bring and I respect him for that and I actually admire him for that, but, once again he's fighting us and we have to be prepared for anything Tureano Johnson might bring to the table," Rozier said to Tha Boxing Voice.

"Sergiy will be utilising his technical capabilities and he will be a finely tuned piece of machinery in that bout and he will be victorious. I'm expecting him to be the best technician he could be and that means we will be looking for a stoppage. It's just the actual victory we are concentrating on, it's the win, no matter how it comes."

Rozier and Stark were the trainers for Curtis Stevens, the only fighter to defeat Johnson as a professional.

"We know he's tough, we know he's going to come. Tureano is more of a busy fighter, I'm looking at Sergiy to be real dominant in this fight, to be smarter than Tureano is in this fight, it's a good fight for us," Stark said, "He's going to throw his body at you and come forward all the time, Sergiy is a very smart fighter, he can use his angles too, he can punch inside too, and he's well rounded. This is a perfect fight. The thing is Tureano is not a big puncher so it's good, he's a busy fighter so this is perfect for us."

The 12-round bout will take place at the Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Oklahoma.

No television deal has been announced as yet. DiBella Entertainment, the co-promoter of Derevianchenko, won the mandatory purse bid set down by the IBF for the bout.

DiBella claimed the right of principal promoters with their winning bid of $121,000 and outdid the bid set forth by Johnson's Golden Boy Promotions, who offered $62,000. There will be a 50-50 purse split between the fighters following the bout, meaning each fighter will walk away with just over $60,000.

The IBF mandated that Johnson must square off with Derevianchenko of Ukraine to determine the challenger for Gennady Golovkin's middleweight title.

Derevianchenko, 31, ranked 2nd on the IBF challenger list, is undefeated in his young professional career thus far at 10-0, with 8 KOs. His last fight was a fifth round stoppage of Kemahl Russell in March.

Johnson, 33, returned to the ring in May after being sidelined for nearly a year-and-a-half with a second round knockout over Fabiano Pena. He improved to 20-1, 14 of which were knockouts.

Both fighters represented their respective countries at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The winner will then attempt to outbox the dominant Golovkin and blemish his spotless 37-0, 33KOs record.

Johnson was originally intended to face Golovkin last April. However, the fight never took place.

The Pena fight was Johnson's first fight under Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions stable since making the switch in September 2015, a move that was expected to send him on the fast track to an eventual title shot and prominence in the division.

He injured his shoulder in a unanimous decision win over Irishman Eamonn O'Kane on October 17, 2015. With the win, he became the mandatory No.1 contender. He further damaged the rotator cuff just ahead of his scheduled fight with Golovkin.

Johnson was granted a medical extension by the IBF but exceeded the permitted time for a mandatory challenger to remain inactive.

Golovkin is set to defend his world titles against Saul "Canelo" Alvarez on September 16th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.