Boxing pundit Tim Bradley believes Christian Mbilli deserves a world title shot against unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez after his ten-round unanimous decision win over injured 38-year-old Sergiy Derevyanchaneko last Saturday night in Quebec City.
Bradley feels that Mbilli (28-0, 23 KOs) has the kind of “high-revving engine” that would cause Canelo problems. However, Bradley stops short of predicting a win for Mbilli, and he doesn’t view the France-based 29-year-old Cameroon-born fighter would defeat Canelo or several of the other fighters in the 168-lb division.
Fans weren’t as impressed with Mbilli as Bradley, noting that he couldn’t knock out a one-armed Derevyanchenko (15-6, 10 KOs), who was fighting with just his right arm for the last six rounds of the contest after suffering a left bicep injury in the fourth. Mbilli got a wide unanimous decision victory by the scores 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92.
Top Rank may be planning on matching Mbilli against Jaime Munguia if he’s victorious in his fight against Erik Bazinyan on September 20th. The winner of the Munguia vs. Mbilli fight would be in an excellent position to challenge Canelo for his belts.
“Do I think he’s going to take over the division? I don’t think he’s going to take over the division. I can name a few guys that can beat him, but I can tell you this: He’s tough for anybody,” said Tim Bradley to the Probox TV YouTube channel, talking about Christian Mbilli at 168.
It’s too bad Bradley didn’t name the fighters he thinks would beat Mbilli because it would be interesting to know. These are the likely fighters Bradley feels would beat Mbilli in addition to Canelo:
– Jaime Munguia
– Caleb Plant
– Diego Pacheco
– Osleys Iglesias
If David Benavidez and David Morrell returned to 168, they would likely be added to Bradley’s list because they would feast on an easy-to-hit fighter like Mbilli, who has defensive ability and poor boxing skills.
“It don’t matter. You put him in the ring with Canelo. He’ll be tough for Canelo. I know you heard me on the broadcast say Canelo will stay away from him,’ said Bradley. “I’m going to say he’s not going to fight Mbili. Maybe he will. That’s the reverse psychology.”
Canelo isn’t going to be pressured to fight Mbilli just because of Bradley’s comments. There’s got to be a reason for Canelo to want to fight Mbilli. Financially, he doesn’t bring anything to the table due to his lack of popularity in the U.S. Canelo would be doing Top Rank and Mbilli a favor by giving him a title shot.
“He’s [Mbilli] definitely dangerous because he has a high-revving motor, he has punching power, he’s going to bring it, he has heart. He’s going to pressure Canelo and have him asking questions,” said Bradley.
Tim is correct in saying that Mbilli is forcing Canelo to figure out how to deal with his pressure. It would be a potentially hard fight for him until he solved the puzzle to neutralize his high work rate. Canelo doesn’t have a great engine and won’t be happy getting overwhelmed by Mbilli’s punches.
“We know Canelo fades late, but he’s tailor-made for the Canelo style,” said Bradley. “Let’s be truthful. That counter-punching style Canelo brings inside the ring. Canelo will be strong and poised under all that fire. He’s going to be able to land all those shots, and he might stop him late. However, I think this kid [Mbilli] deserves a shot at a world championship.”
Mbilli would have to keep his guard up against Canelo because if he leads with his head as he did against Derevyanchenko, he will get knocked out. Canelo hits too hard for Mbilli to fight aggressively against him without learning how to avoid those heavy shots. It’sn not enough for Mbilli to use his offense as his defense because it won;t work against Canelo.
“I think Top Rank may be brewing depending on what happens with the Munguia [vs. Erik Bazinyan] fight. They may be brewing a Munguia-Mbilli fight, and then hopefully, the winner will get a shot at Canelo Alvarez,” said Bradley.
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