Christian Mbilli didn’t waste any time tonight, smashing Maciej Sulecki for a first round TKO victory in Quebec City.

The win gives Mbilli the WBC’s interim super middleweight title, which means something when they want it to, and the general feeling is that in this case, they do.

The victory also gives Mbilli (29-0, 24 KO) a likely spot on the Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford undercard in September, and puts him a potential crucial step closer to facing Canelo himself in 2026.

Mbilli, 30, has emerged as Canelo’s top threat in the actual super middleweight division, following David Benavidez departing for light heavyweight after Canelo avoided a fight with him. To date, Canelo has also not paid much mind to facing Mbilli, though that could change.

It’s a fight that Mbilli does want and has tried to campaign for, albeit with less volume than Benavidez tried in his final days at 168 lbs.