Christian Mbilli Makes Quick Work of Sulecki; Bring On Canelo

Super middleweight Christian Mbilli might STILL be the best fighter you don’t know about. But you need to get acquainted with him, whether you speak French or not.

Mbilli of Montreal via his native Cameroon (29-0, 24 KOs) scorched former middleweight challenger Maciej Sulecki of Poland (33-4, 13 KOs) inside one round in the Eye Of The Tiger main event Friday to win the WBC Interim super middleweight world title at Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Canada.

Mbilli promised a spectacular fight, and that Sulecki would get the worst of it. He added that Sulecki would feel more pain from him than he did in his knockout loss to Diego Pacheco. Mbilli delivered and then some.

The pair circled in the first round, looking for opportunities. Mbilli created his own opportunity, catching Sulecki with a wicked left hook to the body off a right-hand feint, followed by an uppercut. Sulecki never saw the body shot coming and was still reeling when the uppercut sealed the deal.

Sulecki managed to get to his feet, but referee Michael Griffin called it a night for Sulecki at 2:28 of the round. With the interim belt, Mbilli set himself up as a mandatory challenger to Canelo Alvarez. He’s made no secret of his desire to fight Alvarez.

For now, Mbilli has likely set up an opportunity to fight on the Canelo vs Crawford undercard. It’s an ideal time for him to introduce himself to the fan base in the United States and Mexico.

Christian Mbilli: No Message

Christian Mbilli is now heading for the Canelo vs Crawford undercard in September in Las Vegas. Photo: Vincent Ethier, Eye Of The Tiger

Asked whether he sent a message to the Mexican champion, Mbilli said there was no message. He would go negotiate the next undercard fight. “I didn’t think it would end in the first round, but I wanted to make Sulecki pay,” said Mbilli.

Turki Alalshiekh has indicated his interest in Mbilli. Might he match him up with Diego Pacheco? We’d love to see it.

Steven Butler Looks Super In New Division

Steven Butler wasn’t sure if his power would carry up to super middleweight. It does! Photo: Vincent Ethier, Eye Of The Tiger

There was no need for a count when former two-time world title challenger and fellow super middleweight Steven Butler of Montreal (36-5-2, 30 KOs) got his revenge by knockout over Jose De Jesus Macias of Mexico (29-14-4, 15 KOs). In the fourth round, Butler landed an overhand right hand after distracting Macias with the jab.

Macias got up, only to have Butler loop another nasty right, and the fight was immediately over. It was just the second time Macias had been stopped. More to the point, Butler got Macias back for a fifth-round TKO loss in 2021.

“Vivre Quebec!” shouted Butler, thanking his family and his fans in the crowd, saying the win signaled a fresh start for him at age 29 in just his second bout at super middleweight.

Makhmudov Mows Down Brown

Arslanbek Makhmudov got the knockout he badly needed to stay on track in the heavyweight division. Photo: Vincent Ethier, Eye Of The Tiger

Heavy-handed heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov (20-2, 19 KOs) did what he needed to do, scoring a first-round knockout over undefeated, Ontario-based Ricardo Brown (12-1, 11 KOs). 

Makhmudov landed a hard right hook in combination, sending Brown nearly flying through the ropes to the delight of the crowd in Quebec City. The much-needed KO came at 1:57 into the fight, kickstarting the next win streak for Makhmudov following his loss last August to Guido Vianello.

Wilkens Matieu continues to look impressive, and he’s still just 19 years old. Photo: Vincent Ethier, Eye Of The Tiger

Super middleweight Wilkens Mathieu of Montreal (14-0, 10 KOs) notched another sensational knockout win over Adagio McDonald (8-2, 6 KOs) of France. Mathieu said he knew McDonald would come forward to him, and his plan was to counterpunch.

It worked to perfection as he caught McDonald with a brilliant combination series. Starting with uppercuts and whipping hooks. Mathieu drilled McDonald with a body shot and followed up with a hard left hook, forcing the referee to step in and end the fight in the third round.

Christian Guerrero of Montreal (15-0, 9 KOs) had some work to do against a durable Sandy Dessaoud of Franco (20-9, 1 KO). Guerrero kept up the attack, and he finally got the stoppage in the tenth round with just 32 seconds in the fight to spare. Guerrero defends his WBC Continental Americas Welterweight title.

Guerrero said he never felt uncomfortable or pressed in the fight, but found Dessaoud awkward, and it took a bit of time to get to him. “I could have gotten a bit more busier. He was doing a good job neutralizing my combinations, my angles,” said Guerrero. “I caught him coming in, I threw the right hand. It was definitely a good ending of the story at the end.”

Leila Beaudoin announced herself as a legitimate contender at super featherweight Friday. Photo: Vincent Ethier, Eye Of The Tiger

Quebec-based super featherweight Leila Beaudain (13-1, 2 KOs) isn’t known as a knockout puncher, but ask Elhem Mekhalad of France (17-4, 3 KOs). 

After a few competitive rounds settling in, Beaudain drilled Mekhalad repeatedly with a super overhand right. She scored three knockdowns and was closing in on a third when the referee waved off the fight at 1:08 of round six for Beaudain’s best win as a professional. She wins the WBO International Super Featherweight belt and puts herself in line as a mandatory challenger at some point for Alycia Baumgardner.