Estephan On Mbilli's Readiness For Canelo

Eye of the Tiger president Camille Estephan believes Christian Mbilli has the discipline and professionalism required to beat Canelo Alvarez.

Estephan first met Mbilli at David Lemieux's house in 2016, shortly after the Cameroonian moved to Montreal following the Rio Olympics. The promoter told The Ring that Mbilli impressed him as a person before he ever saw him fight. When Mbilli became a free agent, the two struck a deal over lunch at a Montreal steakhouse in five minutes.

Mbilli's Work Ethic Sets Him Apart

The promoter recalled a moment that crystallized Mbilli's mentality. After knocking out Najib Mohammedi in March 2022, Mbilli skipped the post-fight celebrations, went home, ate an apple and went to sleep. The next morning he was out running. "That's who he is, what he does and what it takes to beat Canelo, to be on top of the hill," Estephan said, per The Ring.

Mbilli has won eight of nine since that knockout, with the lone blemish a split draw against Lester Martinez on the Canelo-Crawford undercard last year. Estephan said the path to a Canelo fight was discussed from the start of their partnership in 2020, when Alvarez had just claimed the WBA and WBC middleweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">super middleweight titles against Callum Smith.

Estephan compared Mbilli to a hungry wolf climbing the hill, chasing the wolf at the top. "What Canelo has done is legendary, but the wolf top of the hill is never as hungry as the wolf climbing the hill and that's us," he said. The promoter added that Mbilli's character and refusal to deviate from his training regimen have been constant throughout the journey. "I never doubted," Estephan said.

Source: ringmagazine.com