Christian Mbilli (29-0, 24 KOs) crushed #7 Maciej Sulecki (33-4, 13 KOs) in the first round by technical knockout in a mismatch to claim the WBC interim super middleweight title on Friday night at the Centre Videotron in Quebec City, Canada.
Mbilli Wins Interim Title
The fight was over before it had actually even begun, as Sulecki had nothing to hold Mbilli off during the brief fight. Mbilli chased Sulecki, 36, around the ring like a wolf, landing hard right hands to the head and left hooks.
Sulecki Knocked Out Quickly
Near the end of the round, Mbilli caught up to Sulecki and landed a right to the body, followed by a left, and a right uppercut that dropped him. He got up, but the referee, Michael Griffin, opted to stop the contest when he noticed that Sulecki was unsteady on his feet during his quick examination. The time was at 2:28 of round one.
Ideally, it would have been better if the WBC had insisted that Mbilli fight one of the talented contenders in their top 15 rather than the veteran Sulecki. He’d been knocked out in the sixth round last August by Diego Pacheco, and he wasn’t the best option to be fighting for the WBC interim title.
The victory gives Mbilli the WBC interim 168-lb title, putting him in position to challenge for a world title against champion Canelo Alvarez. For the time being, Mbilli could fight on the undercard of Canelo’s next fight against Terence Crawford on September 13th in Las Vegas. if that happens, it’ll allow Mbilli to showcase his skills for whoever is picked out for his opponent to fight
Butler, Makhmudov Win Undercard
On the card tonight, super middleweight Steven Butler (36-5-1, 30 KOs) knocked out journeyman Jose de Jesus Macias (29-14-4, 15 KOs) in the fourth round. Butler dropped Macias hard twice with right hands, prompting referee Sylvain Leblanc to stop the fight. The time was at 1:33 of the round.
Heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov (20-2, 19 KOs) knocked out Ricardo Brown (12-1, 11 KOs) in the first round of a scheduled 10-round fight. Makhmudov, 36, flattened Brown with a looping right hand to the head after backing him up to the ropes. As Browne, 35, was falling, he hit the ropes and slid down. Referee Albert Padulo Jr then counted him out. The time was at 1:57 of round one.
