Christian Mbele is determined to maximize the ESPN exposure he will get on Saturday night.
The aggressive, powerful super middleweight contender intends to eliminate Rohan Murdock as quickly and impressively as possible to show that he is ready for a title shot. Cameroon's Mbele (25-0, 21 KOs), who lives and trains in Montreal, and Australia's Murdock (27-2, 19 KOs) will meet in the 10-round opener of a doubleheader on ESPN that will feature undefeated light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and champion Former super middleweight Callum Smith in the 12-round main event.
“I think Murdock is a very technical boxer,” Mbele told BoxingScene.com. “He's very quick, very fast. He moves with his feet. He'll move quickly, and I think maybe he'll be able to box, like, counterattack. I think he'll try to get the better of me.”
England's Zach Parker (23-1, 17 KOs) knocked out Murdock during the 11th round of their March 2020 bout at AO Arena in Manchester, England. This is the only loss within the distance that Murdock has suffered during his 13-year professional career.
The 31-year-old Murdock has won each of his three fights since Parker stopped him, but barely beat compatriot Isaac Hardman in his last appearance. Nerang's Murdock, who ends his 10-month absence on Saturday night, beat Brisbane's Hardman (15-2, 13 KOs) by split decision last March 12 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.
Murdock could completely turn his career around if he upsets Mbele, who DraftKings Sportsbook listed on Friday as a 16-1 favorite. Meanwhile, Mbele wants to explain why he is ranked as the number one contender by both the WBA and WBC, third by the International Boxing Federation and fifth by the WBO.
“I think now that in my fight I have to send a message,” Mbele said. “I have to prove that I am a future world champion. That's why I need this kind of fight. That's why I'm going to win, and I'm going to win big.”
The 28-year-old Mbele wants to fight fully unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) as soon as possible.
However, the 2016 Olympian realizes he probably won't be able to challenge Alvarez anymore if he wins on Saturday night. In fact, Mbili believes he is likely to fight for the vacant 168-pound championship at some point if he is installed as a mandatory challenger for one of the Mexican star's four titles ( https://www.boxingscene.com/christian-mbilli-hope-fight With-Canelo-too-soon-he-never-fought-a-boxer-like-me-180646).
Mbele, who is promoted by Bob Arum's Top Rank and Eye of the Tiger, knocked out American veteran Demond Nicholson (26-6-1, 22 KOs) in the fourth round of his last fight on September 8 at the Hotel-Casino. Du Lac Lemy in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada.
The two-round ESPN broadcast is scheduled to begin at 10pm ET on Saturday night.
Russian Beterbiev (19-0, 19 KOs), who also lives and trains in Montreal, will defend his IBF, WBC and WBO 175-pound championships against England's Smith (29-1, 21 KOs), who is the WBC mandatory challenger for one of Beterbiev's titles All three are in the main event. Both Mbele and Beterbiev are coached by Mark Ramsey.
Keith Edick is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
