Christian Mbilli aims to nail down a mandatory challenge against Canelo Alvarez in 2025 with victory over Sergiy Derevyanchenko on Saturday.
Mbilli, who is currently 27-0, 23 KOs, is ready to grasp the spot vacated by David Benavidez’s decision to move up to light-heavyweight. After two years of chasing the fight, Benavidez got tired of waiting for Canelo. The Mexican headed to light-heavyweight, where he captured the interim title in June.
The void left by Benavidez allows the WBC’s number-one contender to secure the most significant payday of his life in the next twelve months. ‘Solide’ battles the world-class Ukrainian gatekeeper at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City, knowing his financial future is on the line.
“I hope this will be the last step before a world championship fight,” said Mbilli. “In the meantime, we’ll deliver a great fight, maybe even the fight of the year.
“I can’t guarantee a knockout, but I can guarantee that if he gives me an opening, I’ll take it. I want to show that I’m the best, and I want to show that I’m the real monster. We’re going to see who has the best conditioning. We’re going to see who has the best boxing. It will be no surprise for me because I’m the best.”
Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum left no doubts about who Mbilli was targeting next.
“As with any of my fighters, my goal is to bring Christian Mbilli to the top. I believe a fight against Canelo would be excellent, and at this point, even I think Mbilli would win. Of course, I can’t speak for Canelo, but I’m optimistic we could set up the fight in May.
“I hope this opportunity is the final step towards a world title. We will have a great fight, maybe the Fight of the Year. I’m very happy to be here in Quebec City. We have a lot of boxing fans here. And it’s going to be a great fight.”
Derevyanchenko aims to halt Mbilli’s progress and stop his run as the nearly man in pre-world title fights.
“Every fight that I’ve had has helped me get this opportunity. I’m ready for an aggressive fight. I’ve seen him fight. He is strong. He is aggressive. But I’m ready,” said ‘The Technician.’
“As soon as I heard about this fight, I decided I would sign to fight him because this is the number one guy. My experience is an advantage. It has helped me. And we will see what happens.”
Andre Rozier, the trainer of Derevyanchenko, added, “Mbilli says he’s going to beat Sergiy [Derevyanchenko] like no one has before. I think he’s in for a rude awakening because Sergiy is superior on many levels and will show Mbilli what an elite boxer is.”
The undercard sees heavyweight beast Arslanbek ‘The Lion’ Makhmudov facing Guido ‘The Gladiator’ Vianello. Meanwhile, Osleys ‘El Tornado’ Iglesias battles Sena ‘The African Assassin’ Agbeko.
Also on the bill, Quebec’s Leïla Beaudoin takes on Lizbeth Crespo, with Wilkens Mathieu, Thomas ‘The Ghost’ Chabot, Dzmitry Asanau, Abdullah Mason, and Jahi Tucker featuring.
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
