Canelo Alvarez Will Avoid ‘Special’ Christian Mbilli, Pursue ‘Relatively Easy Fights’, Says Bob Arum

Turki Alalshikh mentioned Christian Mbilli recently as one of the fan-friendly fighters he would like to see appear on the Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford undercard Sept. 13 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

According to Bob Arum, Mbilli’s co-promoter, that would be as close as he could come to sharing a ring with the Mexican superstar. Mbilli (28-0, 23 KOs) is the WBC’s No. 1 contender for one of Alvarez’s super middleweight titles and would become the mandatory challenger if he defeats Poland’s Maciej Sulecki (33-3, 13 KOs) for the interim 168-pound championship Friday night at Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Canada.

Arum doesn’t believe that will be enough to persuade Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) to face the dangerous 30-year-old from Cameroon, Africa.

“Of course not,” Arum told The Ring. “There’s nothing to gain for Canelo to fight him. If he gets by Crawford, [Canelo’s] gonna look for relatively easy fights.”

Mbilli obviously wouldn’t qualify as a “relatively easy” challenger.

The Quebec-based Mbilli isn’t exactly mindful of defense, but he is an aggressive, hard-hitting pressure fighter who rarely stops throwing punches as he comes forward. His offensive prowess is among the factors DraftKings considered when it established Mbilli as an overwhelming 25-1 favorite to win a 12-round, 168-pound title clash ESPN+ will stream as its main event Friday night (6 p.m. ET; 11 p.m. BST).

“I think Mbilli is special,” Arum said. “He’s really good, really strong, a good puncher, he’s got a great chin and he has a great future.”

Top Rank and Eye of the Tiger Management, which also handles Mbilli, attempted to make a bout with Diego Pacheco for Friday night. Pacheco is the WBO’s No. 1 contender for another of Alvarez’s championships and Mbilli was ranked second.

Los Angeles’ Pacheco (23-0, 18 KOs) will instead fight Trevor McCumby (28-1, 21 KOs) on July 19 in a fight DAZN will stream from Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. Arum still thinks his company, Top Rank Inc., can make significant fights for Mbilli at super middleweight.

“We will get good fights for him,” Arum said. “I don’t think Canelo is gonna be a fixture in the division. Canelo, if he beats Crawford, which I don’t think he will, he’s gonna look for some easy touches, finish the contract [with Riyadh Season], make his money and retire. He’s not looking to take any chances. I think Mbilli would beat Canelo. I think [David] Benavidez would beat Canelo. I don’t think Canelo is Canelo anymore.”

Alalshikh announced this week that British contenders Hamzah Sheeraz and Chris Eubank Jr. are potential opponents for Alvarez after the undisputed super middleweight champion faces Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs).

Sheeraz (21-0-1, 17 KOs) would need to beat Brooklyn’s Edgar Berlanga (23-1, 18 KOs) on July 12 as part of The Ring’s pay-per-view show at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York, to become a viable option for Guadalajara’s Alvarez. Eubank (35-3, 23 KOs) would have to defeat rival Conor Benn (23-1, 14 KOs) for a second time in their rematch, which is expected to take place sometime in the fall, to remain in contention for a shot at Alvarez’s Ring, IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO 168-pound championships.