Christian Mbilli Wants a Canelo Rematch Before He's Even Fought Him

Christian Mbilli steps into his first world title fight on Saturday as the reigning WBC super-middleweight champion, and he's not exactly playing it coy. The Cameroonian-born, France-representing 29-year-old told reporters he's already mapping out when he'll hand Canelo Alvarez a rematch — February or Cinco de Mayo in May — assuming the first one goes his way.

That's a bold piece of forward planning for a man who's never been past the opening bell of a world title bout. But Mbilli's résumé backs the swagger: 29-1 with 24 knockouts, a finish rate north of 80 percent, and a WBC interim belt he grabbed by flattening Maciej Sulecki in the first round in Quebec City. One tune-up later, against Lester Martinez, and here he is sharing a marquee with a four-division champion in Riyadh.

The Name Is the Prize

Let's be honest about who Canelo is right now. The 36-year-old is 63-2-2 (39 KO), but his last two outings — a labored win over William Scull and a unanimous-decision loss to Terence Crawford — have plenty of people wondering if the mileage has finally caught up. Before the Crawford defeat, he'd banked eight straight decision wins over Edgar Berlanga, Jermell Charlo and Jaime Munguia. Impressive names, uninspiring tape.

Mbilli doesn't blame Canelo for those distance fights. He blames the opponents, arguing Berlanga, Charlo and Munguia all slipped into survival mode and were happy to simply share twelve rounds with a legend. His pitch is the opposite approach: pressure, volume, and a willingness to walk through a big shot — which he says only makes him worse to deal with, not easier.

A Firefight Canelo Hasn't Seen

Here's Mbilli's actual thesis. Canelo has faced monster punchers — Gennadiy Golovkin, Sergey Kovalev, Miguel Cotto — so raw power won't shock him. What he hasn't faced in years, Mbilli reckons, is a genuine firefight, someone refusing to let him dictate pace. Mbilli says his edge is how he generates power on the inside and throws it in volume, a style he doesn't think Canelo has been tested against.

If he's right on Saturday, the plan stretches further. After the obligatory rematch, Mbilli floated an all-Eye of the Tiger showdown with stablemate and IBF champion Osleys Iglesias, who's a perfect 15-0 with 14 KOs. An undisputed super-middleweight fight between two gym-mates would be a fascinating problem to have. First, though, there's a 63-fight veteran standing in the way — and a rematch Mbilli has already penciled into a calendar he hasn't earned yet. Munguia and Rafael Espinoza round out the 'Mexico vs. The World' card.