Christian Mbilli celebrates after his victory over Carlos Góngora in March 2023. (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Eye of The Tiger)
Rising super middleweight contender Christian Mbilli hopes to make a statement against Rohan Murdock in their scheduled 10-round fight at the Center Videotron, Quebec City, Canada, on Saturday.
Mbilli, ranked No. 2 by The Ring at super middleweight, welcomes the opportunity to headline the card for his partner Artur Beterbiev, who will put his IBF, WBC and WBO light heavyweight titles on the line against the mandatory Callum Smith.
Mbilli hopes to provide the fireworks before the main event.
“This fight will be a great fight, a good fight for the fans, a good fight for ESPN, a good fight for me and a good fight for him,” Mbilli (25-0, 21 knockouts) told The Ring. “We are different types of fighters, I have never fought with a style like him.
“I think he counterattacks, he moves very well, he is very fast, with very fast hands. I have to be focused at all times. I think it will be a great fight and of course I am going to win this fight. “I’m going to show again how great I am.”
Last year was important on a personal and professional level for Mbilli. The 28-year-old impressively defeated Carlos Góngora in a thrilling fight in March, in which he had to fight off considerable adversity in the eighth round before winning a 10-round unanimous decision. He went on to stop and retire Demond Nicholson in four rounds in September.
Then, in October, he officially became a Canadian citizen, leaving behind his humble beginnings in Cameroon. Mbilli moved to France at the age of 11 before emigrating to Canada.
“I played soccer and I switched to boxing, I was 15 years old because I had a lot of problems on the street,” he said about how he became interested and dedicated himself to boxing. “I was in a very difficult town, with poverty, many problems. I was a teenager and a lot of people want to challenge you in the street, they want to fight. That’s how I found boxing.
“My evolution in boxing was very fast. Maybe four months of boxing, I started and boxed in the French championship. I came third and after this the French team saw me and in one year of boxing I was already on the French team.”
He then represented France at the 2016 Olympics before moving to Montreal to work with Marc Ramsay.
“Now I’m Canadian, I received my Canadian passport,” he said proudly. “I have a great story, I am a citizen of the world!”
Mbilli hopes to build on the successes of 2023.
“My big goal in 2024 is to be world champion,” he stated. “I want Canelo, I want to be the best, I want to fight the best and everyone knows that Canelo is the best in the division. I hope that after this maybe Canelo but I’m going to be patient. I’ll wait for my moment. For me, I want to fight Canelo right now.”
And if you could talk to the undisputed super middleweight, what would you say?
“Come on, let’s do it, give me my chance,” he said. “I am the best and I am going to prove it to you. Come on, I’m ready for this fight. “I was born for this fight.”
Eye of The Tiger’s Camille Estephan hopes her fighter can further advance her claim by beating Murdock.
“Christian has proven in the last few fights that he is the legitimate and feared contender for any champion at 168,” Estephan said. “We would like to see him in a world title fight in 2024. Whether Canelo or someone else, he is ready to be world champion. “Murdock is a very dangerous fight in our path and we must take care of that matter first on January 13.”
The fight should be an interesting combination of styles. Murdock will look to box and stay defensive, while Mbilli will press the action. I think the latter will enjoy more success and knock Murdock down and score a stoppage in around nine rounds.
Murdock (27-2, 19 KOs), a native of Australia, has been a professional since 2010. He suffered an early loss but reeled off 22 consecutive wins before losing to then-undefeated British fighter Zach Parker (TKO 11).
The 31-year-old has won his last three, including beating compatriot Isaac Hardman (SD 10) on the Tim Tszyu-Tony Harrison undercard in March.
Beterbiev-Smith, in addition to the undercard, will air on ESPN at 10pm ET/7pm PT and on Sky Sports in the UK at 3am
Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected].
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