Boxing analyst Tim Bradley believes Christian Mbilli deserves a shot at super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez after his 10-round unanimous decision victory over injured Sergiy Derevyanchaneko, 38, on Saturday night in Quebec City.
Bradley feels that Mbilli (28-0, 23 KOs) has the kind of “swell engine” that can cause problems for Canelo. Bradley, however, stops short of predicting Mbilli to win, and doesn’t see the 29-year-old Cameroon-born French fighter beating Canelo or several other fighters in the 168-lb division.
Fans were not as impressed with Mbilli as Bradley, noting that he was unable to knock down Derevyanchenko (15-6, 10 KOs), who was fighting with his right arm in the last six rounds of the tournament from behind. He is suffering from a fourth left bicep injury. Billi won by unanimous decision with scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92.
Top Rank may plan to match Mbilli with Jaime Munguia if he wins his fight with Erik Bazinyan on September 20. The winner of the Munguia vs. Mbilli will be in a good position to challenge Canelo for his belts.
“Do I think you will take this stage? I don’t think he will take this stage. I can name a few guys who can beat him, but I can tell you this: He’s tough for anyone,” said Tim Bradley on YouTube channel Probox TV, talking about Christian Mbilli at 168 years old.
It’s too bad that Bradley didn’t mention the names of the players he thinks will beat Mbilli because it would be interesting to know. These are the fights that Bradley thinks will beat Mbilli more than Canelo:
– Jaime Munguia
– Caleb Plant
– Diego Pacheco
– Osleys Iglesias
If David Benavidez and David Morrell return to 168, they will likely be added to Bradley’s roster because they will be feasting on an easy hitting fighter like Mbilli, who has good defensive skills and low boxing skills.
“It doesn’t matter. Put him in the ring with Canelo. He’s going to be tough on Canelo. I know you heard me on the radio saying that Canelo will stay away from him,” said Bradley. “I will say that he will not fight with Two. Maybe you will. That’s reverse psychology.”
Canelo won’t even be pressured to fight Billi just because of Bradley’s comments. There has to be a reason why Canelo wants to fight Billi. Financially, he doesn’t bring anything to the table because of his unpopularity in the US. Canelo will be doing Top Rank and Billi a title shot.
“He is there [Mbilli] he is definitely dangerous because he has a high-speed engine, he has the power to hit, he will deliver, he has heart. He will pressure Canelo and ask him questions,” said Bradley.
Tim is right when he says that Mbilli is forcing Canelo to see how he can deal with his pressure. It could be an uphill battle for him until he solves the puzzle to reduce his high work rate. Canelo does not have a high engine and will not enjoy being overwhelmed by Mbilli’s punches.
“We know Canelo is running out of time, but he’s built for Canelo’s style,” Bradley said. “Let’s be honest. That’s the style of counter-punching that Canelo brings inside the ring. Canelo will toughen up and stand under all that fire. He’ll be able to hit all those shots, and he might block him late. However, I think of this child [Mbilli] he deserves a shot at the world championship.”
Billi will have to watch out for Canelo because if he leads with the head like he did with Derevyanchenko, he will be knocked out. Canelo hits hard for Mbilli to fight him hard without learning to avoid those heavy shots. It’s not enough for Mbilli to use his offense as a defense because it won’t work against Canelo.
“I think Top Rank may mature depending on what happens with Munguia [vs. Erik Bazinyan] to fight. “They could be cooking up a Munguia-Mbilli fight, and hopefully the winner will get a shot at Canelo Alvarez,” said Bradley.
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