Photo credit: Rosie Cohe/Showtime

Middleweight Sergiy Derevyanchenko may only have five fights on his pro ledger, but beating a fringe contender in impressive fashion tonight could solidify his standing in boxing.

Derevyanchenko will fight Elvin Ayala in a 10-round bout at Bally’s Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, topping a three-fight Showtime telecast beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

Derevyanchenko (5-0, 4 KOs), who was the subject of a recent “New Faces” feature, has decimated modest opposition since turning pro in July of last year. In his last bout, on April 10, Derevyanchenko stopped Alan Campa in the fourth round in Brooklyn, New York.

Promoter Lou DiBella is very high on Derevyanchenko, who won a bronze medal at the 2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships and fought in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

“Sergiy is a superb fighter who could possibly contend for a world title in about a year,” said DiBella, who is promoting tonight’s fight card.

Ayala (28-6-1, 12 KOs) has bounced back from a two-year hiatus after being knocked out by Curtis Stevens in the first round. He has won two bouts this year, the last on Mar. 28 against Ronald Gavril, who entered the bout unbeaten.

Opening the “ShoBox: The New Generation” telecast will be an eight-round bout between unbeaten junior welterweights Regis Prograis (14-0, 12 KOs) and Amos Cowart (11-0-1, 9 KOs).

Rounding out the telecast will be middleweight Ievgen Khytrov fighting Nick Brinson (17-3-2, 7 KOs) in an eight round bout. Khytrov (10-0, 9 KOs) is another unbeaten prospect to keep an eye on, according to DiBella.

In his last bout on Apr. 10, Khytrov, who was born and raised in the Ukraine but now resides in Brooklyn, was taken the distance for the first time in his pro career. He defeated Aaron Coley by unanimous decision over eight rounds.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for RingTV since October of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, Boxingscene.com, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing