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As Saul Canelo Alvarez prepares to defend his undisputed super middleweight crown against Jaime Munguia on May 4, one of the division’s leading contenders, Christian Mbilli, will invite Mark Heffron to Canada on May 25 with the Mexican superstar on his mind.
Mbilli (26-0, 22 KOs) told boxingscene.com that Munguia is “an easy fight” upon the announcement. The Frenchman is ranked in No. 2 for Canelo’s WBC and WBA belts, and also occupies 3rd and 4th positions within the IBF and WBO.
“I have all kinds of respect for Munguia,” Camille Estephan, Mbilli’s promoter, said exclusively to boxingscene.com. “Obviously he is a big name and it is a fight that will sell. We believe Canelo is probably going to come out on top in this one.The truth is that we are waiting for Canelo. He [Mbilli]’s ready for Canelo, we know that. All the roads lead to Rome if we can keep winning, looking impressive and show that he is a true fight for any champion. Then we are on target. Eventually it will happen, whether it is against Canelo or for a vacant title, we don’t really care.
“We would love to fight Canelo. Of course, when you look at the economics of that fight, everybody wants that fight. We want it, but most importantly, we deserve it. The other guys, [Edgar] Berlanga or Diego Pacheco who are calling for it, they don’t deserve to fight Canelo. Christian Mbilli deserves it, and we are going to show it. You line them up; Munguia, Berlanga, Pacheco and all the others, one after the other on the same weekend, let’s go.
Heffron (30-3-1, 24 KOs) is a former British and Commonwealth champion. The 32 year old from Oldham lost his titles to Jack Cullen last September, but returned with a win over little-known journeyman Serhii Ksendzov in February.
“He’s a great fighter, an entertaining fighter and consummate pro,” Estephan added. “We just want to give him [Mbilli] different experiences. I think Heffron is going to be a good fight, a fun fight. He’s got good power and he is going to try and take Christian out.
“In Quebec City he completely dominated [Rohan Murdock]. Talk about seizing the moment, when the lights are on, on ESPN in the co-main event, he put out the performance he really needed for that, and he did it against a really good fighter. I have to give credit to him, he took a huge amount of punishment and has a great chin. But, Christian showed he is in another league and I think Heffron is going to help us show that. Show that he can deal with different styles with anyone.”
