Super middleweight contender Christian Mbilli added his name to the long list of next potential opponents for Saul “Canelo” Alvarez with an impressive victory over Rohan Murdock in January in Quebec City. 

Mbilli (26-0, 22 KOs) forced Murdock to retire on his stool after six thunderous rounds on the Artur Beterbiev-Callum Smith undercard. The 28-year-old Frenchman further solidified his top-four ranking within all four major governing bodies in a division that is at the beckoning of boxing’s biggest draw.

“We are not going to be waiting on Canelo,” Marc Ramsey, Mbilli’s trainer, told Boxing Scene. “We are not going to wait for [David] Benavidez or [David] Morrell or nobody. We are just doing our stuff. We have a great promoter in Camille Estephan; he’s given us all the tools to climb the rankings. At one point, nobody in the division will have no other option than to face him.

“He’s in a little bit of the same situation that Artur was in before he won the title. He’s putting in good performances, but not many in his division want to fight him because he’s an inside fighter and a pressure fighter. It is not a fun fight to do. The division is a little stuck right now with Canelo holding all the belts. But, like I said, we are not going to wait, and we will force people to face us.”

Mbilli settled in France with his parents after emigrating from Cameroon when he was 10 years old. He represented his adopted nation at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, switching to the pro ranks a year later.

“I’ve been with him from the beginning,” Ramsey said. “I saw him as an amateur fighter, and I could see straight away that he had that style to be a professional fighter. So I decided to bring him to Canada and sign him.

“We sign a lot of local guys because we need them. But if you look at the likes of Artur and Mbilli, we also have a new guy from France called Moreno Fendero, a bronze medalist in the amateur ranks. The point is that the boxing fan of Quebec will give them a good effort. They are especially big fans if they fight not a fight where you try to escape, but a real fight. Then they don’t care if you are from Canada or outside. They will support you if they appreciate and respect the effort.”

Ramsey, based in Montreal, is enmeshed in Canadian boxing’s past, present and future. He worked as Canada’s national amateur coach before guiding Jean Pascal and Antonin Decarie in the pro ranks. Ramsey currently works as the head of development for Eye of the Tiger, in addition to his work with Mbilli and Beterbiev.

The Canadian boxing schedule, throughout the country, continues to ramp up. As Eye of the Tiger’s Estephan told reporters in Quebec City, “Canadian boxing is in a great place.”

“It is very busy,” Ramsey said. “There is a lot of good young talent. We have guys out there right now producing good fights, but we have another wave coming that will be ready in two or three years. I believe the future is very bright for professional boxing in Canada.”