QUEBEC | What awaits Artur Beterbiev after he once again defended his three world titles at light heavyweight (175 pounds) by defeating Callum Smith on Saturday?
• Also read: Beterbiev defeated Smith in the 7th round
• Also read: Wilkens Mathieu inspires the audience: The 19-year-old boxer wins his first home fight
“He just finished the 16-week training camp, we'll let him breathe a little, and then Ramadan is coming up in March and then we can talk to the people at Top Rank,” his trainer Marc Ramsay said after the fight on Saturday night.
The desire is obviously to face Dmitry Bivol (22-0-0, 11 KOs), another Russian who holds the WBA title and is the only one to beat Beterbiev (20-0-0, 20 KOs). .) escapes.
At the press day on Thursday, English promoter Eddie Hearn made it clear that there was a contract for a possible fight between the two compatriots.
“I don’t know how he can say that, I didn’t sign anything,” Beterbiev said with a smile.
The fact is that this is the fight everyone wants to see, it was on our wish list for the new year. And if it comes to that, you'll most likely have to book your tickets to Saudi Arabia if you want to attend in person.
Good for Mbilli
Saturday night also went well for Christian Mbilli (26-0-0, 22 KOs), who devoured Rohan Murdock, who had to retire due to so many punches.
Mbilli competes in the super middleweight division (168 lbs), a category firmly anchored by Canelo Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs), the world champion of the four major boxing associations. But it was a serious message that Mbilli sent with his performance against Murdock.
“Canelo has certainly seen it, or he will see it in the next few days. Is it positive? I don’t know,” said Antonin Décarie of Eye of the Tiger Management. “Television will turn against him, Americans will want to see him again. Christian may not be as well-known as Canelo, but sometimes a great performance can push the champion away.”
Everyone would like to see Mbilli against Alvarez or David Benavidez. The person affected knows that it will not be easy and does not think it is risky.
“The real question is what risks are they willing to take to face me? I pose too much risk compared to the benefits they can gain. Do you have the will to confront me?
Christian Mbilli delivered a performance that should open doors for him. Courtesy of Eye of the Tiger Management/Vincent Ethier
An option
There are whispers among the branches that Mbilli could face American Caleb Plant (22-2-0, 13 KOs) first, which he wouldn't hate to do. Plant is behind him in all rankings, but is a quality opponent.
“I would dream [de ça]. It would be an absolute joy to face Caleb Plant. He is an opponent that I have my sights on, I watch his fights and I say to myself: “He wouldn't spend 10 rounds with me,” admitted Mbilli on Saturday evening.
What we know at Eye of the Tiger is that his performance at the Videotron Center will open doors for him.
“We had a lot of discussions with the WBC. They didn’t promise us anything, but they told us that they would talk to us again if he delivered the goods.”
Which party!
We must also tip our hats to the boxing fans in Quebec who helped set a new record for a gala at the Videotron Center. Despite the bad weather there were 10,031.
It has to be said that everything was prepared for a successful evening. The map was as enticing as can be and the fights lived up to their promise. We had an exciting evening from start to finish and even Top Rank's imposed fight with Australian Jason Moloney, who was struggling to defend his WBO bantamweight (118lbs) belt against American Saul Sanchez, got the crowd excited Legs.
“I have never experienced a gala that was better than this one in this atmosphere. Boxing in Quebec shone. If I had to give a grade in all facets, I would say A+,” said the President of Eye of the Tiger Management proudly at the end of the evening.