#3 Christian Mbilli (28-0, 23 KOs) and #4 Kevin Lele Sadjo (24-0, 21 KOs) will meet in an IBF super middleweight title eliminator in May in Paris, France. The winner of the Mbilli-Sadjo fight will be the mandatory challenger for IBF super middleweight champion William Scull or whoever holds the belt by the time they fight.
Title Implications
If the Mbilli-Sadjo winner is lucky, Canelo Alvarez will hold the IBF title. Not that he would ever agree to fight the winner, but there’s always the possibility. That’s unrealistic, but it’s the best Mbilli vs. Sadjo winner can hope for.
If Scull still holds the IBF belt, there’s not much to gain financially fighting him other than capturing his title to use it as bait for bigger fights.
Earlier today, Y12 Boxing won a purse bid to stage the Mbilli-Sadjo IBF 168-lb title eliminator. The 34-year-old Sadjo is an eight-year pro. His best career win thus far is Jack Cullen, which doesn’t say much. He’s got power but is short at 5’8″ and doesn’t have much time left before he’s over the hill. Mbilli should have little problem beating him.
Mbilli, 28, is coming off a tougher than expected 10 round unanimous decision win against 39-year-old Sergiy Derevyanchenko last year on August 17th. If Derevyanchenko were several years younger, he likely would have beaten Mbilli and made it look easy.
Scull (23-0, 9 KOs) is now the likely opponent that unified three-helt super middleweight champion Canelo will face on Cinco de Mayo. Alvarez will likely choose to fight him because he wants to recapture his IBF title.
The other options at 168 are far more risky for Alvarez. No one will get excited by Canelo fighting Scull, but I don’t think he cares. Canelo has taken easy fights for repeatedly in the last few years since losing to Dmitry Bivol in 2022. Scull fits in with the kind of opposition Canelo has been feasting on.
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