Unbeaten knockout artist Christian Mbilli predicted that the months of punishment in his camp will take its toll on Maciej Sulecki when the two square off for the WBC interim super-middleweight title this Friday at Québec City’s Centre Vidétron. "Somebody's gotta pay for all this work - and Sulecki will pay on fight night," Mbilli promised at Wednesday's final press conference.
The 30-year-old France-based challenger is not looking to achieve a quicker finish than Diego Pacheco's sixth-round stoppage of Sulecki last August, but he guarantees he will inflict greater punishment. "I'm not here for overtime. If the knockout comes, great - but I guarantee you a more spectacular fight and that he feels more pain than he felt after Pacheco."
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Sulecki comes in with renewed confidence after he captured the WBC silver strap previously held by the John Ryder and finalized a tenth-round TKO of Ali Akhmedov in February. The Warsaw veteran, who was shut out in his failed bid for a title by Demetrius Andrade in 2019, did not take Mbilli's bravado seriously. "He’s strong, aggressive. He can be right out of control sometimes. I know what I'm supposed to do and he can talk about what he plans to do with Pacheco and [Gervonta] Davis - but he first has to beat me."
Through their partnership, Top Rank and Eye of the Tiger appointed nine fighters through ESPN+ for a live stream starting Friday at 6 p.m. ET. For Mbilli, a victory will bring him closer to Canelo Alvarez' throne; for Sulecki, it may be his last opportunity to shake off the label of 'gatekeeper.' Either way, Quebec anticipates fireworks and one fighter doesn't just anticipate dishing it out, but is hoping to repay an extreme debt in punishment.
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Image Credit: Top Rank