Boxing | Christian Mbilli is “the most credible option” for Canelo Alvarez

When he woke up, a nice surprise awaited Christian Mbilli. Thanks to his victory against Sergiy Derevyanchenko, obtained Saturday in Quebec, he is now ranked second among super-middleweights on the esteemed Boxrec platform. Only the name of Canelo Alvarez, a boxing legend, surpasses him.

Before his unanimous decision victory, Mbilli was ranked third in the category. The win allowed him to overtake Mexico’s Jaime Munguia.

” Canelo doesn’t have a lot of options. Tonight, we became the most credible “, had hammered home the promoter Camille Estephan, after the triumph by unanimous decision of his protégé.

” “There’s no one in the division that’s as dangerous as Christian is today. No one could beat Derevyanchenko like he did tonight. He not only beat him, he beat him all night long,” he summed up.

Before getting your teeth into this long-awaited duel, you’ll have to be patient. At 34 years old, and with 65 professional fights under his belt, Canelo Alvarez is now limited to two fights per year.

In September, he must already face the Puerto Rican Edgar Berlanga, fifth in the category according to Boxrec. We would therefore have to wait at least until the winter of 2025 for a Mbilli-Alvarez clash.

” “I don’t think Berlanga can offer Alvarez as good an opposition as I can. I’m more ready than him,” assures Christian Mbilli.

In enemy territory

Far be it from us to play the spoilsport once again, but fans who dream of a visit by the boxing legend to Quebec soil should perhaps put out their lanterns.

” “I don’t think the match could take place in Canada,” Camille Estephan said. “The finances have to make sense. We can’t compete with Las Vegas. There are a lot of partners involved in all of this, like Top Rank.”

Estephan is convinced of one thing, however: if Alvarez accepted a fight in Quebec, it would be possible to fill a room. ” “twice as big” as the Videotron Centre. But this scenario could only come to fruition if Mbilli were to win a first fight against Alvarez. He would therefore find himself in a position of strength, and would probably have the leisure to choose the location of his next fight, Estephan reflects.

Alternatives

There you go, we’ve gone astray. Faced with this dream — realistic or not, we’ll let you judge — Mbilli must continue to evaluate his alternatives. Because he is ” “It’s hard to force Canelo to do anything: he’s the face of boxing,” recalls Camille Estephan.

Mbilli is therefore opening up to other possibilities.

Camille Estephan and Eye of the Tiger Management (EOTTM) find themselves in a strange situation. Under their aegis is also the 4^e super middleweight favorite Osleys Iglesias. He was also in action at the Videotron Centre on Saturday. He made short work of Sena Agbeko, knocking him out in the second round.

Also competing under the EOTTM banner is ninth-place Erik Bazinyan, who will face Jaime Munguia in Arizona in September.

It would be very surprising, if not impossible, for EOTTM to pit two of its boxers against each other. Let’s just say that it would be a poor business strategy. This therefore limits the potential opponents for Mbilli.

” “We will do what we have always done: find solutions, remain active,” commented Camille Estephan.

Difficult evening

On Saturday night in the semi-final, Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov faced Italian Guido Vianello and was no match. Far from it.

The doctor stopped the fight in the eighth round. But it was already clear that Makhmudov’s working night was over.

” I wanted it to end, Estephan admitted after the gala. We wanted to give him a chance, since he’s a guy with a lot of power. We saw him in the sixth round, he landed a good shot. It’s a different sport, heavyweights.”

Mahkmudov’s left eye was completely swollen. According to his clan, the injury was caused by a headbutt from his opponent. Mahkmudov was taken to hospital after the fight to check the condition of his eye and to make sure it had not been fractured.

Despite his obvious setbacks, coach Marc Ramsay refuses to talk about a ” underperformance”.

” They hit each other quickly, hard, he said, to justify Mahkmudov’s rapid difficulties. Vianello is a good technician, a good boxer and we knew it.

Even reminding them of Mahkmudov’s defeat, it was hard to wipe the smile off Camille Estephan’s face. All of her other boxers, including Wilkens Mathieu, Leïla Beaudoin and Thomas Chabot, won their fights in spectacular fashion. And this was in front of a charmed crowd of over 5,000 spectators, a respectable ticket sales figure. ” while it is more difficult to gather people indoors in the summer.”

” We proved that we have a lot of talent, but above all a very nice boxing crowd in Quebec,” concludes Estephan.