Top-ranked super-middleweight Christian Mbilli will finally headline at home when he meets Polish spoiler Maciej Sulecki for the WBC interim title on Friday, 27 June, inside Quebec City’s Videotron Centre. The Eye of the Tiger/Top Rank show streams live on ESPN+ and places an all-Canadian co-feature Erik Bazinyan vs. Steven Butler in the chief support. toprank.com
Mbilli has blitzed three straight contenders since January 2024, including a one-round wipe-out of Mark Heffron and a rugged decision over former title challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko. Ranked No. 1 by the WBC and WBA, the Cameroon-born Frenchman says the interim belt is “the culmination of a lifetime of work - and my ticket to Canelo.”
Watch Mbilli vs. Derevyanchenko highlights: Watch
Sulecki resurrected his career in February by travelling to Kazakhstan and stopping Ali Akhmedov. The 35-year-old owns distance losses to Daniel Jacobs and Demetrius Andrade but insists a fresh camp has “put me in the best place of my life.” Victory in Mbilli’s backyard would catapult him toward the Canelo–Scull winner.
The co-main delivers a Montreal civil war as slick Armenian-Canadian Erik Bazinyan collides with two-time challenger Steven Butler over ten super-middle rounds. Bazinyan’s jab-and-angles style will try to blunt Butler’s seek-and-destroy mindset; bragging rights and a top-10 ranking hang in the balance.
Heavyweight fireworks follow: six-foot-six puncher Arslanbek Makhmudov (19-2, 18 KOs) attempts to rebound from last year’s upset loss to Guido Vianello when he meets unbeaten Jamaican Olympian Ricardo Brown (12-0, 11 KOs). Both men boast knockout ratios north of 90 percent - blink at your own risk.
Local star Leïla Beaudoin (12-1, 1 KO) faces former world champion Elhem Mekhaled at junior lightweight in a bout likely to produce the next WBC mandatory. Rising prospects Jhon Orobio (13-0, 11 KOs), Luis Santana (13-0, 6 KOs) and Quebec City native Wilkens Mathieu (13-0, 9 KOs) round out a card designed to showcase the province’s next generation.
Fight card:
▪️Christian Mbilli vs. Maciej Sulecki, 12 rounds, for Mbilli’s WBC Silver super middleweight title
▪️Erik Bazinyan vs. Steven Butler, 10 rounds, super middleweight
▪️Arslanbek Makhmudov vs. Ricardo Brown, 10 rounds, heavyweight
▪️Leila Beaudoin vs. Elhem Mekhaled, 10 rounds x 2 minutes, super lightweight
▪️Jhon Orobio vs. TBA, 10 rounds, super lightweight
▪️Luis Santana vs. TBA, 10 rounds, lightweight
▪️Wilkens Mathieu vs. TBA, 8 rounds, super middleweight
