Christian Mbilli says a fight between him and Canelo Alvarez would be a “big war” that he believes he would win if the match were to happen next.
Mbilli’s Challenge to Canelo
Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs) states that Canelo (63-3-2, 39 KOs) is “very old,” and he doubts that he can handle his “pressure” after watching him lose to Terence Crawford on the September 13 card in Las Vegas.
If Canelo is going to fight again and not rematch Crawford, Mbilli would be an excellent option to attract interest from fans. They want to see Alvarez fight a live body and not resort to selecting weak opposition.
Before facing Mbilli, Canelo needs the Fountain of Youth to restore him because he looked depleted in his loss to Crawford. That spark was missing.
People have already seen Canelo fight numerous lower-tier fighters, such as Edgar Berlanga, Jaime Munguia, and John Ryder, in recent years.
The WBC has ordered an immediate rematch between Mbilli and Lester Martinez to clear up following their 12-round split draw on September 13. However, if Mbilli is offered a fight against Canelo next, he would obviously take it.
Mbilli’s Path to a Payday
His WBC-ordered rematch with Martinez would be forgotten in that case. If the WBC chooses to strip Mbilli of his interim belt, I doubt that he’d care much. The payday he’d receive fighting Canelo would be well worth giving up the interim strap.
Additionally, it’s unlikely that the current WBC champion, Terence Crawford, will agree to fight Mbilli. If Crawford doesn’t retire, he could move down to 160 if Canelo chooses not to rematch him. Fighting Mbilli would be hard work for the 38-year-old Terence, and I doubt he would want that kind of fight at his age.
A New “War” for Canelo
“It’ll be a big war. It’s good because he’s getting very old. I don’t know if he can take my pressure or my punch because I throw a lot of punches,” said Christian Mbilli to Ring Magazine when asked about a fight between him and Canelo Alvarez.
It would be a war that Mbilli would force upon Canelo, which could be equally as tough as his first two fights against Gennadiy Golovkin in 2017 and 2018. Fighting someone like Mbilli at Canelo’s age, it may prove too much for the 35-year-old Mexican star.
“I put a lot of energy. I don’t know if he can take it because he’s getting very old. I have a good chance to win if I fight Canelo,” said Mbilli.
Canelo’s Fading Gas Tank
If Mbilli fights the way he did against Lester Martinez on the Canelo-Terence Crawford card on September 13th, he may be too much for Canelo. The hectic pace that Mbilli fights at would potentially wear Alvarez out rapidly, perhaps well before the midpoint of the fight.
Canelo looked exhausted by the seventh round against Crawford, and he was mostly just moving around the ring.
