Mbilli, Makhmudov get quick KO wins

WBC #1, WBA #2, IBF #3, WBO #3 super middleweight Christian Mbilli (27-0, 23 KOs) destroyed Mark Heffron (30-4-1, 24 KOs) in the first round on Saturday night at the Centre Gervais Auto in Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada. Mbilli came out throwing body shots and folded up Heffron in just 40 seconds.

Rebounding from his first professional loss, IBF #12, WBC #14 heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov (19-1, 18 KOs) destroyed Miljan Rovcanin (27-4, 18 KOs) in round two. A clubbing Makhmudov right hand knocked Rovcanin halfway out of the ring for a knockdown in round one. Makhmudov then laid out Rovcanin with a crushing right hand in round two. Time was 2:32.

Unbeaten light heavyweight Mehmet Unal (10-0, 8 KOs) was impressive in stopping Rodolfo Gomez Jr (14-8-3, 10 KOs) in round four. Well received referee’s stoppage. Time was 2:17.

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  • Mbilli was extremely impressive in stopping a solid pro like Heffron so quickly. One left hook to the liver…fight over. Does Mbilli pose a serious threat to Canelo at this point? I’m not so sure. But if he gets past Sergei Derevyanchenko later this year, and does so impressively, then Mbilli should definitely get a crack at Canelo. As for Makhmudov, not much to say there other than he’s always going to be dangerous regardless of whom he fights as his power is tremendous. I don’t see him ever getting over the hump to elite status but he’s a risky proposition for any top heavyweight. No one will be in a rush to throw hands with him.

    • Canelo has all the main titles locked down at 168 but with Morrell and Benavides moving up to 175, that vacates two minor belts. In Benavidez’s case, I don’t think they would fight for the “vacant, interim WBC belt” but I wouldn’t be surprised. Mbilli definitely should be first in line to fight for whatever the best opportunity is available is. He’s been more active and more dominant against quality opposition than Berlanga. Honestly though, I think he has no chance against Canelo. Mbilli is a volume puncher, who loves to crowd and stifle his opponents with a lot of body movement and an arsenal of punches from all angles. I don’t see him getting inside and having his way with Canelo. It would be interesting to see how Canelo responds though.

  • Makhmudov is fun to watch, he walks into the ring full of tics, strong as an ox, not someone you want to meet in a narrow alley late at night.

    After the loss against Kabayel, he goes up against the rather difficult Rovcanin and wins convincingly. It is strongly done and it also shows that both he and his team believe in him.

    Makhmudov’s boxing skills leave something to be desired. This means that today I find it difficult to see him being enough against many of those who are currently in the top 10 in the heavyweight division.

    It will be exciting to follow Makhmudov in the future.

    • Makhmudov has a little of that Mike Tyson aura. While he doesn’t have a Tyson-esque skill set, he has that perception of a guy who just wants to destroy anything put in front of him. Plus, you also know he’s vulnerable, so win or lose, it’s gonna be devastating.

      • I would love to see Makhmudov absolutely DESTROY Jared Anderson. I don’t give Anderson a chance in that fight and it would be satisfying to see him get absolutely crushed!!

    • The only part of your comment I don’t agree with is that Rovcanin was difficult. He has a decent record, but he’d lost to anyone he’d fought with real skills. He was hand-picked to make Makhmudov look good, and he served that role well.

    • He looks like Popeye’s old nemesis, Bluto, to me. Maybe Kabayel ate a can of spinach before their fight!

  • It will be interesting to follow Mbilli as well. It’s hard to win in a more convincing way than he did. But 30 seconds doesn’t say much.

    Although in all honesty I think Heffron’s record is better than his skills. As soon as he meets someone who has a more credible record, he loses. His victories are not directly convincing.

    The step from Heffron to Canelo is an ocean long. But for sure Mbilli has potential and he’s definitely top 10 in super middleweight.

    • Mbili’s one of those guys whose marketability doesn’t seem to be explored to the max. The guy has one gear, full-speed ahead and his workrate is almost superhuman. I think he’d be a handful for just about anyone. We haven’t seen him against a true, bona fide World Class talent yet, but my hunch is he’d do pretty well. At the very least, you know he’s in with a chance and it’d be an all action fight.

  • mbilli is scary if you are an opponent make sure you get paid well as for fighting canelo too early to tell

  • If he gets by the technician you almost bet he gets a fight with a bigger name. Im interested in seeing that one.

  • That Mbilli must be one hullava puncher, who knows how to get real leverage on his shots, much like Tank Davis and Mike Tyson. Heffron looked to be in exceptional condition, yet he was blown away by those body shots. He only took a couple before he folded. Wow. Looking forward to Mbilli’s future fights.

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