Christian Mbilli Now Interim World Champion

By William Dumoulin

Photo credit: Vincent Ethier – Eye of the Tiger

On Friday night at the Videotron Centre, in front of 5,300 fans, Christian Mbilli (29-0, 24 KOs) was finally crowned WBC interim world champion thanks to a first-round knockout victory over Poland’s Maciej Sulecki (33-4, 13 KOs). A solid right uppercut sent Sulecki to the canvas, and the referee stopped the fight after the count of eight, ruling that the Polish fighter was in no condition to continue.

Now holding the interim title, Mbilli edges closer to a long-anticipated showdown with Canelo Alvarez. Could this fight actually happen? After Canelo’s scheduled bout against Terence Crawford in September, it’s not impossible to see Mbilli as one of the Mexican star’s future opponents. He might even end up on the undercard of Canelo-Crawford, as Turki Alalshikh, promoter of the mega-fight, has expressed interest on social media in adding Mbilli to the event.

Butler Avenges Loss to Macias

Originally set to face Erik Bazinyan, Steven Butler (36-5-1, 30 KOs) had to deal with a last-minute replacement due to Bazinyan’s injury. Enter Jose de Jesus Macias (29-14-4, 15 KOs), who had knocked out Butler back in January 2021 in Mexico and had previously given Bazinyan a tough challenge.

But on Friday night, Butler looked in tremendous form. He dropped Macias in the fourth round with a powerful right-hand shot before finishing the job before the end of the round.

With that loss now avenged, a clash against Bazinyan remains a real possibility. Butler appears revitalized since moving up to super middleweight.

Makhmudov Roars Back

In a pivotal fight for his career, Arslanbek Makhmudov (20-2, 18 KOs) delivered against former Olympian Ricardo Brown (12-1, 11 KOs). True to his aggressive style, Makhmudov came out firing and landed a massive right overhand, sending Brown to the canvas in the opening round.

This victory could reignite Makhmudov’s hopes on the international stage. Time will tell if he can seize this new opportunity, after setbacks in his last two fights against Kabayel and Vianello.

Other results from the night:

• Wilkens Mathieu (13-0, 9 KOs) stopped Adagio McDonald (8-2, 6 KOs) by third-round knockout.

• Jhon Orobio (14-0, 12 KOs) captured the WBC Continental Americas title with a first-round knockout of Zsolt Osadan (27-4-1, 17 KOs).

• Christopher Guerrero (15-0, 9 KOs) defended his WBC Continental Americas title with a 10th-round TKO over Sandy Messaoud (20-9, 1 KO).

• Leila Beaudoin (13-1, 2 KOs) claimed the WBO International title with a sixth-round TKO win against Elhem Mekhaled (17-4, 3 KOs).

• Luis Santana (14-0, 7 KOs) knocked out Eduardo Estela (17-5, 12 KOs) in the fifth round.

• Wyatt Sanford (3-0, 2 KOs) earned a unanimous decision win over Mark Andrejev (4-2).