Canelo Alvarez is set to defend his WBC, WBA and WBO super-middleweight titles against Edgar Berlanga next month, but that hasn’t stopped another man who is number one contender for one of his belts sending out a huge warning and declaring he’s the best in the division.
Canelo takes on Berlanga at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on September 14th, with Berlanga earning the right due to his number one ranking with the WBA.
In the WBC rankings, it is Christian Mbilli who sits at number one, and he returns to action this evening when he faces perhaps his toughest test yet, taking on former multiple-time world title challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko at the Centre Videotron in Quebec City, Canada.
Talking ahead of the fight, Mbilli hopes this is his final bout before a crack at taking on Canelo, but already feels that he is the best 168lb fighter in the world.
“I hope this opportunity is the final step towards a world title. I think we will have a great fight, maybe the Fight of the Year. I’m very happy to be here in Quebec City. We have a lot of boxing fans here. And it’s going to be a great fight.
“I want to show that I’m the best. I want to show that I’m the real monster. We’re going to see who has the best conditioning. We’re going to see who has the best boxing. For me, it will be no surprise because I’m the best.
“I don’t know . But I know that if he gives me any opportunity to knock him out, I will knock him out.”
Derevyanchenko is looking to end those plans, as he aims to put in a similar performance that saw him push the likes of Gennady Golovkin and Daniel Jacobs extremely close in their respective world title contests.
“Every fight that I’ve had has helped me get this opportunity. I’m ready for an aggressive fight. I’ve seen him fight. He is strong. He is aggressive. But I’m ready.
“As soon as I heard about this fight, I decided I was going to sign to fight him because this is the number one guy. My experience is an advantage. It has helped me. And we will see what happens.”
Elsewhere on the card that is being broadcast live on ESPN in the USA and on Sky Sports in the UK, the co-main event sees Arslanbek Makhmudov take on Guido Vianello in a heavyweight contest.
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