Super middleweight Christian Mbilli will continue his march to a world title fight when he takes on DeAndre Ware in a scheduled 10-round bout at the Montreal Casino on Friday.
Mbilli, who is ranked No. 5 by The Ring at 168 pounds, is motivated and fit for his savvy American opponent.
“[I prepare for] all my fights [like they] they are world championship fights,” Mbilli (21-0, 19 KOs) told The Ring. “I want to do the fights step by step to get to the world championship. It is a matter of patience to reach my goal, but I will do it in a short period of time.”
The 27-year-old, who moved to Montreal from France five years ago, appreciates that he will have to be respectful of Ware.
“I think DeAndre has an American style,” Mbilli said. “He has a good jab, he can hit, he has a good right hand. [hand]he likes to take his time and move his feet.
“I think I am better than him, but I have to stay focused on the fight. It should be a good fight for boxing fans.”
Mbilli is coming off an impressive knockout of former world title challenger Nadjib Mohammedi, whom he stopped in five rounds in March.
“It was a good fight for me,” Mbilli said. “It was seen in France and Quebec, a lot of people saw this fight. Mohammedi had many fights, he fought many champions. It was a big knockout for me. I think it was the most impressive knockout of my career.”
Mbilli (right) against César Ugarte. Photo courtesy of Christian Mbilli on Twitter (@MbilliChristian)
The Frenchman hopes to be equally devastating against Ware. Mbilli believes a strong performance could give him a world title shot against undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez, who faces Gennadiy Golovkin on September 17.
“I hope that next year I will have the opportunity to fight for a world title,” Mbilli said. “I think Canelo is going to win [the Golovkin] fight very easy. Golovkin is too old. I saw his last fight, he has no speed, and Canelo is the best fighter right now. It could be Golovkin’s last fight.
“All fighters love Canelo. He is my target now. I don’t know what Canelo will do after this fight. We’ll see after we’ve both fought.”
“I have to be more impressive in my fight. I have to introduce myself to the world of boxing. I have to make sure that people talk about me and that will give me a fighting chance. That’s why it’s great that this fight is on ESPN.”
Eye of The Tiger boss Camille Estephan has struggled to match his rising star, but believes the deal he recently negotiated with Top Rank/ESPN will create a stir around Mbilli.
“Christian is certainly a huge threat to the super middleweight division and everyone knows it,” Estephan said. “For a lot of boxers, risk versus reward is an issue. It’s not worth taking on a challenge like that.
“We are convinced that Christian has what it takes to become a dominant world champion. It’s just a matter of time. Soon there will be nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. The visibility of his next fight will help cement his status.”
Ware, 34, (15-3-2, 9 KOs) has been a pro since 2014. The Ohio native won his first eight fights before a surprising draw with experienced fighter Juan Carlos Rojas Sanchez. An accidental headbutt cut short his next fight with perennial journeyman Rayco Saunders (TD 1).
“El Hachero” returned to the path of victory and significantly outperformed Enrique Collazo (SD 8) by points. However, he tasted defeat for the first time against Cem Kilic (UD 8). Ware bounced back to upset previously undefeated Ronald Ellis (MD 10), but suffered back-to-back losses to Vladimir Shishkin (TKO 8) and Steven Nelson (TKO 6). He has won two fights since then.
Mbilli-Ware, in addition to undercard fights, will be shown on ESPN+. The broadcast begins at 7 pm ET/ 4 pm PT.
Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected] and you can follow him on Twitter @AnsonWainwright
