(Shawinigan) Failing to fight in the world championship, Christian Mbilli will put his two titles on the line against the Englishman Mark Heffron, on May 25, at the Gervais Auto Center in Shawinigan.
Mbilli (26-0, 22 KOs) will try to defend his World Boxing Association (WBA) International and World Boxing Council (WBC) Americas super middleweight belts against Heffron (30-3- 1, 24 KO).
After signing a co-promotion agreement with Top Rank, Mbilli, ranked No. 2 in the WBC and WBA, No. 3 in the International Boxing Federation (IBF), as well as No. 4 in the World Boxing Organization (WBO), still waiting for the opportunity to take on the division’s champions, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, David Benavidez and David Morrell.
The semi-final of the gala will be handled by heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov (18-1, 17 KOs), who will try to avenge his first professional defeat at the hands of Agit Kabayel, against Junior Fa (20- 3, 11 KO).
Fa, from New Zealand, has already beaten Makhmudov as an amateur, but he is coming off three defeats in his last four outings, including two by knockout.
Makhmudov will want to confirm his place among the world heavyweight elite, he who is at 10e rank of IBF aspirants and 13e of the WBC.
A third major fight for this gala, which will be presented on ESPN+, PunchigGrace.com and TVA Sports (for the preliminary fights), must be revealed shortly.
World light heavyweight contender Albert Ramirez (18-0, 15 KOs) – No. 2 in the WBA, No. 4 in the WBO, No. 5 in the WBC and No. 8 in the IBF – also belongs at Eye of the Tiger Management. Rumors suggest that he could complete this card.
In the meantime, eight fights are confirmed. Wilkens Mathieu, Mehmet Unal, Alexandre Gaumont, Luis Santana, Christopher Guerrero and Jhon Orobio will also be in action.