The bout between Christian Mbilli and Lester Martinez has been confirmed, along with other matchups, for the undercard of Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford. The event airs live on Netflix from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Saturday, September 13. Mbilli brings his interim WBC super middleweight title to the ring.
Montreal-based 30-year-old Mbilli (29-0, 24 KOs) is fresh off a first-round stoppage victory over Maciej Sulecki in June. Stepping through the ropes in the U.S. for the first time since late 2021, the unbeaten Cameroonian-French fighter makes the first defense of his belt.
Guatemala’s Martinez (19-0, 16 KOs), who previously held the WBC and WBO Latino belts, now attempts to take a step closer to becoming a world champion. The 29-year-old won his previous bout in March by knockout in the fourth round against Joeshon James.
Also confirmed for the Canelo vs Crawford undercard is a super welterweight contest between Callum Walsh (14-0, 11 KOs) of Ireland and Fernando Vargas (17-0, 15 KOs) of Oxnard, CA.
Walsh took a technical decision over Elias Espadas in June and KO’d Dean Sutherland in the first round in March. Vargas knocked out Gonzalo Gaston Coria in the fourth round in May.
Additionally, Mohammed Alakel (4-0) of Saudi Arabia and John Ornelas (5-2-1, 2 KOs) of Santa Ana, CA, clash at super featherweight.
Alakel, who is also scheduled to face Yumnam Santosh Singh on the Itauma vs Whyte undercard in Riyadh this Saturday, August 16, won two fights this year by points decision against Alexander Morales and Engel Gomez. Ornelas is coming off a unanimous decision defeat to Terell Bostic in January.
Turki Alalshikh, Saudi Arabia’s Minister and Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, announced the above-mentioned bouts via a post on social media on Monday.
Atop the second boxing card live on Netflix, following Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson last November, Canelo Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) faces Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs).
Mexico’s two-time and current undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo makes the first defense of his title during his second reign. Two-division undisputed champion Crawford of Omaha, NE, aims to conquer his third weight class.
The current Canelo vs Crawford lineup is as follows:
- Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford
- Christian Mbilli vs. Lester Martinez
- Callum Walsh vs. Fernando Vargas
- Mohammed Alakel vs. John Ornelas