French warrior Christian Mbilli has been calling for a shot at Canelo Alvarez for some time, and now, as has been reported by the WBC, the all-action 168 pound contender will face off with Maciej Sulecki in June, this in a fight that will contest the WBC interim title at super middleweight.
The fight between Mbilli, 28-0(23) and Sulecki, 33-3(13) has been set for a while now, but it will now contest the vacant strap. And on paper at least, the winner will be one step closer to a big fight with unified 168 pound champ Canelo. And of course, the dynamo from France feels he will defeat Sulceki when they fight in Quebec City, Canada, on June 27.
That said, Mbilli, now 30, says he is well aware of how “sneaky” his Polish opponent is. Sulecki has been stopped just once, this by Diego Pachecho, while his other losses came on points against Danny Jacobs and Demetrius Andrade. Sulecki is 36 and he has a lot of experience.
“He is very risky, very tough,” Mbilli said of Sulecki. “He can be sneaky too; I have to be careful because he can box too, and he can put pressure on,” Mbilli said to UK Boxing News. “I want to give a boxing show to the fans; I want to give them a very big show and a good fight. I want to show the fans that boxing is spectacular, it is not a dance.”
It’s not clear whether or not Mbilli was having a sly dig at Canelo for his last fight, this the duller than dull snoozer with William Scull, when he said that boxing is “not a dance,” but he sure could have been.
One thing is for sure, it would be nothing like that awful fight in Saudi Arabia if Mbilli did get a shot at Canelo. Mbilli throws a heck of a lot of leather and he has given us some real excitement in his fights. Sulecki is tricky and tough as Mbilli fully acknowledges, but Mbilli’s sheer aggression along with his work-rate should see him to a mid-rounds stoppage win on June 27.
But will Canelo agree to face Mbilli, either this year or next year, if he does get past Sulecki?