Mbilli Destroys Heffron - Evening Summary

By William Dumoulin

Photo credit: Vincent Ethier – Eye of the Tiger

This Saturday marked the 7th time Eye of the Tiger presented a professional boxing gala at the Centre Gervais Auto in Shawinigan. The promotion's two biggest headliners, Christian "Solide" Mbilli and Arslanbek "Le Lion" Makhmudov, were featured in the main and co-main events of the gala. Here is a summary of the evening.

In the main event, former French Olympian Christian Mbilli (27-0, 23 KO) faced British fighter Marc Heffron (30-3-1, 24 KO). Mbilli wasted no time, stopping Heffron in the first round with a powerful liver shot. There was perhaps an expectation of more resistance from the British fighter.

Next, Christian is expected to fight Ukrainian Sergiy Derevyanchenko on August 17 at the Centre Vidéotron. An official announcement is expected next week to formalize everything. This will be the biggest test of Mbilli's career.

In the co-main event, after the initial opponent Junior Fa withdrew, Arslanbek Makhmudov (19-1, 18 KO) faced last-minute replacement Miljan Rovcanin (27-4, 18 KO) in a scheduled 10-round bout. Known as "Le Lion," Makhmudov sought the KO from the start. However, he demonstrated more technical boxing than usual, with an active jab. He managed to end the fight in the second round with a devastating right-hand punch. The future looks interesting for Arslanbek, who will seek to return to the international level after a defeat to Agit Kabayel last December.

On the undercard, Mehmet Unal (10-0, 8 KO) fought his first 10-round bout against American veteran Rodolfo Gomez Jr (14-8-3, 10 KO). It was a very good opponent for Unal. Nonetheless, Unal delivered a fine performance and managed to KO Gomez in the 4th round.

Wilkens Mathieu (9-0, 6 KO) fought a 6-round bout against Polish fighter Przemyslaw Gorgon (17-13-2, 6 KO). Mathieu sent his opponent to the canvas multiple times before winning by TKO in the 4th round.

After a victory on the mega card of January 13, Christopher "Machine Gun" Guerrero (11-0, 6 KO) returned to the ring against American Kenny Larson (7-2-1, 5 KO). Christopher came out roaring. His powerful punches hit the target early in the fight, and he won in the first round.

The spectacular Alexandre Gaumont (11-0, 7 KO) was back in the ring after his victory on May 2 at the Casino de Montréal. This time, he faced an undefeated opponent, Argentinian Santiago Fernandez (8-1-1, 4 KO). It was an excellent fight! Fernandez had the upper hand in close-quarters exchanges, while Gaumont had the advantage in long-distance exchanges. The Argentinian seemed to have done enough to win, but the judges thought otherwise. Gaumont won the fight by split decision (78-74, 74-78, 77-75).

Prospects Moreno Fendero (6-0, 4 KO) and Jhon Orobio (9-0, 8 KO) comfortably won their respective bouts by unanimous decision.

Eye of the Tiger will present another gala in two weeks, on June 6. Steven Butler and Patrice Volny will face off in a long-awaited duel. Osleys Iglesias will defend his IBO super-middleweight championship in the co-main event. Mary Spencer, Arthur Biyarslanov, Shamil Khataev, Leila Beaudoin, Jhon Orobio, and Luis Santana will also box at the event.