Christian Mbilli makes his case for a Canelo showdown

QUEBEC CITY — As The Ring and WBC’s no. 1 contender at 168 pounds, it shouldn’t take much for Christian Mbilli to prove that he deserves a title opportunity. When you consider that The Ring championship and three of the four major titles are held by the biggest star in boxing, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, and that the sport of boxing is more like the business of boxing, it’s understandable why Mbilli felt he had to make a statement in Quebec City, Canada.

The 29-year-old Mbilli (28-0, 23 knockouts), a Cameroon born, France raised, Montreal based slugger, risked his spot in the division against Sergiy Derevyanchenko, perhaps the most unlucky boxer in the middleweight divisions over the past decade. Derevyanchenko could easily have just one defeat on his record – the only one of his five prior losses that no one disputes is his 2020 decision loss to Jermall Charlo.

A clear victory would send a message that Mbilli is head and shoulders above the other super middleweights in the division, and give him a strong argument for why he is the best available challenger for Alvarez for the Mexican superstar, after he finishes up business with Edgar Berlanga on September 14 in Las Vegas.

A decisive victory is exactly what Mbilli accomplished last Saturday, August 17 at Centre Videotron in a ten-round bout on ESPN. Mbilli shut Derevyanchenko out on one card, and won by lopsided scores on the other two to score a unanimous decision victory, using body punches to slow down the quick footed Derevyanchenko, and landing overhand rights over Derevyanchenko’s compromised left hand, which was hampered by an injured bicep early in the bout. Mbilli also found himself a one-armed fighter early on, with his left shoulder sustaining an injury. Trainer Marc Ramsay tells The Ring that the injury are likely just minor tears, which they will heal through rest.

It was an entertaining, if at times inarticulate brawl which showcased Mbilli’s power and relentless aggression.

Camille Estephan, President of Eye of the Tiger Management, which co-promotes Mbilli with Top Rank, argues that any handicap to Derevyanchenko was canceled out by Mbilli’s own injury. He feels a compelling case has been made for Mbilli to be the next logical challenger to Alvarez.

“Christian made our job easy, he completely dominated Derevyanchenko. Nobody had ever put a beating on him, but tonight he took a beating. I was really concerned for his health, he was taking really big punches. So, what are we waiting for? It’s obvious he should fight Canelo. Nobody can present that danger in the division for him today,” said Estephan.

“Right now, I’m ready for big fights. I want to be a world champion. I know that to be the best, I have to beat the best. I don’t want to say any names, but everybody knows who’s number one. I want the fight with number one,” said Mbilli.

In a sports league, it’d be obvious that the number one team and the number two team would logically face off for the championship, but in professional boxing, deals often come down to timing and circumstance. Mbilli, a 2016 Olympian for France, has gotten more exposure to American audiences recently, with his last three bouts being shown live on either ESPN or ESPN+. He has built a respectable fanbase in Quebec, where he first turned pro in 2017, and drew a crowd of 5,212 for his first main event at Centre Videotron, a number which Estephan says is more impressive because of how challenging it can be to draw fans to indoor events during the relatively sparse warm months.

The exposure on ESPN brings with it greater media obligations than Mbilli has typically faced in smaller, club level events, which Ramsay says will help him prepare for major events.

“This is something especially when you fight a veteran like Derevyanchenko, you need to go through these week long fights, deal with the media, deal with the pressure of ESPN. You need to pass by those fights to get ready for the big stage. This is not something that you learn in the gym, you have to do it. The majority of the boxers are not able to pass that test and he did very well tonight,” said Ramsay

As the mandatory challenger, Mbilli could activate his mandatory challenger status, though the belt is obviously worth much more to him around Alvarez’s waist than it is vacant. Alvarez, whose Hall of Fame status has long been secured, has shown that he isn’t going to be defined by the belts, having vacated the IBF super middleweight belt in May rather than deal with negotiations against the lesser known Germany based Cuban William Scull.

“In all transparency, it’s very difficult to force Canelo to do anything. He’s the face of boxing. But I feel truly that Christian can beat him. I think if the fans demand it, and the media demands it. In terms of potential opponents right now, Canelo doesn’t have a whole lot of options. He has options but I think tonight we became the most credible option,” said Estephan.

The question of “why Mbilli?” is a lot easier to answer than the question of “who else if not Mbilli?” The biggest fight Alvarez could have faced was David Benavidez, the former WBC super middleweight titleholder who has now moved up to 175 pounds. If that fight could have happened, it probably would have been made already. Alvarez has already beaten the no. 2 contender, Jaime Munguia, in a one-sided all-Mexico showdown this past Cinco de Mayo weekend which drew 17,492 to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Aside from Munguia and Berlanga, there are no other fighters at 168 pounds whose names would approach recognizable in the United States. Osleys Iglesias (11-0, 10 KOs), The Ring’s no. 3 contender, showed he was a formidable threat in the making, having stopped former title challenger Sena Agbeko in two rounds on the Mbilli-Derevyanchenko undercard, but he is still in the early stages of becoming more familiar to North American audiences after fighting exclusively in Europe for the first four years of his career.

One slot down, Diego Pacheco (21-0, 17 KOs) of Los Angeles is taking his first step up against fringe contender Maciej Sulecki on August 31, while the no. 5 contender Vladimir Shishkin (16-0, 10 KOs) is set to face Scull in October for the IBF belt Alvarez vacated.

Estephan acknowledges that an Alvarez fight would have to take place in the United States, though he says with a smirk that he’d gladly set up a rematch at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, the site of the first Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Duran fight in 1980.

“I definitely think that if Canelo Alvarez is coming to fight Christian Mbilli here, we’re going to have a sold out arena twice as big as this one. Does the finance make sense? I don’t believe that that fight can happen in Canada, the first one anyway. If we beat him, we’ll give him a rematch, we’ll have it here but we cannot compete with the gates that happen in Vegas,” said Estephan.

“We gotta talk to Top Rank, they’re our partners in this, see what the finances could be. From a sporting perspective, it’s very obvious to me that Christian proved that he’s a very credible opponent. We’re gonna work very hard for that to happen.”

And what if an Alvarez fight doesn’t come to fruition?

“Anyone. I don’t want to say any names but I’m ready to fight anyone,” said Mbilli.

“Someone with a belt,” added Estephan.

Ryan Songalia has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler and The Guardian, and is part of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Class of 2020. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com.

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