Christian Mbilli is an all-action warrior who is never in a dull fight. Lester Martinez is also in possession of a fan-friendly style. And both men are undefeated and can punch. Add it all up, and we could get a great battle on Saturday, this as Mbilli and Martinez collide on the Canelo-Crawford card in Las Vegas.
Frenchman Mbilli, who, like so many other fighters, wants a shot at Canelo, spoke with Ring Magazine, and he said he feels his fight with Martinez could go down as one of the year’s very best. 30 year old Mbilli, 29-0(24) is a fighter who likes to stay as active as he can (he fought three times last year, and Mbilli will be having his second fight of this year on Saturday; and he could box again before 2025 is out, while Mbilli saw a May 2025 IBF elimination bout fall apart due to financial issues). 29 year old Martinez of Guatemala, unbeaten at 19-0(16) has been less active, this as a series of injuries forced him to pull out of fights. Martinez has fought just once since last June.
Mbilli’s Respect for Martinez’s Danger
But Mbilli made it clear he is expecting the best, most dangerous version of Martinez.
“We have watched a lot of his fights in training camp,” Mbilli said of Martinez. “He’s a very good boxer – very good explosively, good precision. He has very good conditioning and I think it will be a very good fight…..maybe it will be the Fight of the Year. He has a good right [hand], a good hook, too. He’s very fast, very quick….I think he’s a very good fighter. He’s not very famous, but he’s dangerous. I have to be careful.”
There is always something a little extra to a fight when two unbeaten warriors go at it, especially when they are both punchers. Mbilli, who has fast become a real crowd-pleaser with a strong following, could have played it safe and not fought as risky a foe as Martinez.
Why This Fight Could Outshine the Main Event
Mbilli won the WBC interim belt at super-middleweight last time out, this when he scored a very impressive first-round KO over Maciej Sulecki. But rather than sit on his praise, here’s Mbilli risking his high ranking against a dangerous banger.
Everyone is fascinated to see what will happen in Saturday’s main event, but Mbilli might be right when he says his fight could end up being the action fight of the night.
