Trainer says Christian Mbilli is clearing – and helping to set – a high bar

Marc Ramsey is happy with the work ethic of his super middleweight contender Christian Mbilli. The trainer believes Mbilli’s progress has earned the fighter a positive reputation – which shows in the rankings.

Rated No. 2 and No. 3 by the WBO and IBF, respectively, Mbilli, 29, is gunning for a 168-pound title following an impressive 10-round unanimous decision win over Sergiy Derevyanchenko in Quebec City, Canada, last month.

Mbilli, a French fighter of Cameroonian descent, has risen steadily to become one of the hottest properties at 168, having recorded stoppage victories over Rohan Murdock and Mark Heffron earlier this year.

According to Ramsey, unified light heavyweight champ Artur Beterbiev, whom he also trains, has raised the standard of training in the gym.

“I want [Beterbiev] to focus on his stuff, but he still influences the rest of the gym to follow his ethic at training and as a professional,” Ramsey told Pro Boxing Fans. “And now it’s the turn of Christian Mbilli, who’s following in his footsteps. A very dedicated fighter, very easy to coach and gifted, strong, and he has a lot of tools.

“Christian also became an example for the new and upcoming fighters. I have a couple of new prospects coming in, and they all look up to Christian and Artur, and it’s a kind of reputation that the gym has right now.”

The hard-hitting Mbilli is on course to be considered as a future opponent by 168-pound superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, who dominated Edgar Berlanga in a unanimous decision win last month. The unified 168-pound champion is weighing his options and could opt to face the winner of Saturday’s 175-pound undisputed championship fight between Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

When asked if his fighter would consider facing Alvarez next, Ramsey said promoters Top Rank must decide what’s best for Mbilli.

“We don’t know yet,” Ramsey said. “Christian had a little surgery right after the last fight. Now he’s OK, but we’re gonna let the promoters decide. If it’s Canelo, we’re gonna be very happy. But we don’t want to wait on Canelo.

“We want to continue to push [Mbilli], to work with him technically and tactically, to get ready when the phone rings. Boxing is always a question of timing like this, but it’s a project that we have, and we really believe we’re gonna reach a target at one point with them, no doubt.”

Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at [email protected].