Super middleweight Christian Mbilli is emerging as a leading contender who believes he can challenge any of the top fighters in his division.
Mbilli is set to face Sergiy Derevyanchenko at Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Canada, on August 17 — a bout that marks the pinnacle of his career thus far. Derevyanchenko suffered a 2023 unanimous decision loss to Jaime Munguia, a result that elevated Munguia’s career, including his pursuit of a fight against Canelo Alvarez, an opponent Mbilli aspires to take on one day.
In an interview with ESPN’s Mark Kriegel, Mbilli (27-0, 23 KOs), 29, confidently expressed his readiness to compete against top-tier competition with a dedicated training regimen: “Give me three months of training camp, and I could beat them now,” he claimed.
Derevyanchenko (15-5, 10 KOs), 38, of Ukraine, is known for providing tough challenges to elite fighters like Gennady Golovkin, and he will likely present a significant test for Mbilli. He will be the most decorated fighter Mbilli has faced. Reflecting on Derevyanchenko’s skills, Mbilli remarked, “He is a very good boxer. He has great experience, he has a lot of fights as an amateur, and he has fought [a lot of] the champions as a professional.”
Most of Mbilli’s career has been based in Canada. He recently secured a co-promotional deal with Top Rank Inc. He currently holds top-three rankings in major sanctioning bodies and occupies the No. 1 spot in the WBC rankings, a division in which Canelo is the titleholder with David Benavidez holding the interim title.
Looking ahead to his showdown with Derevyanchenko, Mbilli confidently predicted: “I am going to try to knock him out. But, I am going to win this fight for sure.”