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Christian Mbilli Born For This | Canelo vs Crawford
Interim WBC Super Middleweight Champ Ready To 'Bring The Pain' Again September 13
Interim WBC super middleweight champion Christian Mbilli isn’t the cocky type, but he is an honest man, so when I asked him if he is one of the most feared fighters in boxing today, he couldn’t tell a lie.
“I think so,” said Mbilli. “And I don’t want to sound arrogant about it, but I’ve been calling out all the top guys in the division for many years now, and you can clearly see they don’t bring the same energy when my name is mentioned.”
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That’s usually bad for business, but after compiling a 29-0 pro record with 24 knockouts and earning that interim title belt, Mbilli’s status as a cult favorite helped land him a slot on the Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford main card in Las Vegas this weekend, where he will face unbeaten Guatemalan power hitter Lester Martinez. So how does he see the reality that practically no one is lining up to fight him?
Christian Mbilli Fight Week Interview | Canelo vs Crawford
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Christian Mbilli Fight Week Interview | Canelo vs Crawford
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“Of course, it’s a compliment,” he said. “Some guys will have all sorts of excuses, but the bottom line is that they prefer to stay away because they know that I bring the pain to the ring. I’ve beaten four guys ranked top 10 at the time we fought already, Martinez will be the fifth. I understand business is business, but soon enough, other top guys just won’t have any choice but to fight me.”
That’s the understated manner that comes with knowing just how good you are, and Mbilli, a native of Cameroon who now makes his home in Montreal, doesn’t have to shout from the mountaintops about how good he is. He lets his performances do the talking, and thus far, they’ve been pretty loud. Four of his last five wins have ended before the final bell, with the only distance fight being a near-shutout win over the notoriously tough Sergiy Derevyanchenko. And when he picked up the interim title against Maciej Sulecki in June, it took him less than a round.
So the 30-year-old member of the 2016 Olympic team for France clearly has everything between the ropes figured out. As for the hype awaiting him in Vegas this week as he prepares to fight on the biggest card of the year, he’s good in that department as well.
“To be honest with you, I think I was just born for this,” Mbilli said. “Born ready. It was just a matter of getting the opportunity, but here we are.”
And while he enters Allegiant Stadium as the favorite, he’s not underestimating Martinez, who has been one of Crawford’s top sparring partners for this camp and several others.
“First off, he’s an explosive guy,” said Mbili. “He’s powerful and comes forward. He won’t be here to dance, and if you know what I bring to the ring I think it’s just the perfect mix to create a firefight.
I’m planning to steal the show, and with that guy in front of me, it won’t be what His Excellency (Turki Alalshikh) would call a ‘Tom and Jerry’ fight.”
Oh no, Mbilli would never be accused of that. He also won’t be accused of overlooking an opponent. He’s fought too hard to get here and isn’t about to get caught napping.
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“I’ll never get overconfident because, in boxing, you only need one bad punch to lose a fight,” he said. “I sacrificed my life to boxing, so if I lose, I lose everything. And I sacrificed too much, and put in too much work in this already to lose focus and get over my head now that I’m so close to the ultimate goal.”
Boxing fans already know all this about what “Solide” brings to the ring and the sport. Yet there will be those watching on Netflix who may be seeing him for the first time, and the champ wants to give them a show.
“It means the world, because the world will be watching, literally,” he said. “Like I said before, I’ve been calling out everyone in the last couple years, and those who know boxing know what I bring to the table. Now, we’re talking about a mainstream audience. I think it will bring my career to a whole other level and brings opportunities even bigger.”
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How big? Like the winner of Saturday’s main event?
“We will see how it goes,” Mbilli said. “I think the chance will be higher if Canelo wins, because Crawford won’t necessarily stay at ‘68 after. But in boxing I’ve learned that you never know. All I can say is that I’ll be ready if the phone rings.”