Christian Mbilli vs. Diego Pacheco - IBF and WBC Ordered

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IBF orders eliminator between Christian Mbilli and Diego Pacheco

The International Boxing Federation (IBF) ordered eliminator between Christian Mbilli and Diego Pacheco. Both fighters, ranked within the world’s top 5, will face off in a crucial bout to determine the next challenger for the IBF super middleweight world title.

Christian Mbilli, signed with Top Rank, holds the number 1 spot in the World Boxing Council (WBC) and the World Boxing Association (WBA) rankings. Additionally, Mbilli is ranked number 2 by the World Boxing Organization (WBO), making him one of the most sought-after fighters in the division.

The French boxer has had an impressive 2024, securing three victories, two of which came by knockout. Mbilli has previously expressed interest in challenging Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez, the unified WBC, WBA, and WBO champion, but has yet to finalize that fight.

Diego Pacheco, under contract with Matchroom Boxing, is currently ranked number 1 by the WBO and number 3 by the WBC. The undefeated Los Angeles native boasts an impressive record of 22 wins, with 18 knockouts.

In 2024, Pacheco scored two significant victories: one by decision against Shawn McCalman and another by knockout over Maciej Sulecki. However, his future remains uncertain as he is also in negotiations to face Trevor McCumby in January.

The winner of Christian Mbilli and Diego Pacheco match will earn the chance to challenge the current IBF champion, William Scull.

Scull, undefeated with a record of 23 wins, including 9 knockouts, is awaiting his next challenger.

Pacheco’s decision to prioritize between the eliminator bout with Mbilli or the fight against McCumby will be critical. A loss in either of these matches could jeopardize his chance to contend for the unified title against Canelo Álvarez, where he currently holds the WBO mandatory challenger status.

The fight between Christian Mbilli and Diego Pacheco represents not only a chance to climb the rankings but also a step closer to the coveted world title. Both fighters have earned their top spots, and the winner will become the next major challenger for champion William Scull.

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Promoter admits there is much to gain for the winner of Christian Mbilli-Diego Pacheco

Eye of the Tiger boss Camille Estephan has said talks are underway to match his super middleweight contender Christian Mbilli with Diego Pacheco.

Mbilli is 28-0 (23 KOs) and promoted by Eye of the Tiger who partner with Top Rank; Pacheco is 22-0 (18 KOs) and promoted by Matchroom.


The two 168-pounders would meet to determine the No. 1 challenger for IBF champion William Scull.

“It was ordered by the IBF to become mandatory, we responded to the IBF, they [Matchroom] responded to the IBF, and the fans are excited for this fight. I’m really very pleased to hear the response. The response is overwhelming from the fans. Two guys that are undefeated, both of them have very good offensive styles, they have power, they’re very promising. Mbilli, I think, is at the peak of his career. He’s ready, he’s hungry, very hungry, so we’re excited.”

No dates nor venues have been worked on, but Estephan hopes discussions will start progressing.

“To be frank, it’s new [developments]. We’ve already had a talk, so we’re in the right direction. Who knows? We’d like to do it in Quebec, obviously that’s Mbilli’s hometown, and they’d like to do it in the US. So we will see what happens.

“[A win] gets us in a position to be mandatory for the IBF title, but you know, that’s one thing. The other thing is that I’m sure it’s going to be a spectacular fight, so the winner will be in a very good position to be the official or unofficial real challenger to Canelo, so I think we have so much to gain. Both guys have so much to gain.”

Eye of the Tiger has depth at 168lbs, and in 2025 Estephan will bring back Eric Bazinyan, who will be looking to rebound from the first loss of his career, to Jaime Munguia in September.

“He gained a lot of experience,” Estephan said of the 10th round defeat. “Now he knows that he belongs [at that level]. Although he lost, some losses are better than some wins, in the sense that you always want to win but he knows he won rounds against Munguia, he didn’t have the confidence knowing he belonged there, now he does, so I think he can do a lot of damage.”

Estephan also has Osleys Iglesias, 13-0 (12 KOs), whom he refers to as “the boogeyman of the division” and who has won his last four since arriving in Canada.

“We have Imam Khataev (8-0, 8 KOS at 175lbs) fighting in December. He’s a light heavyweight and a lot of people are talking about him like he’s the next Beterbiev. We will see, but he’s super promising. He is fighting December 7. We have Albert Ramirez (19-0, 16 KOs) at 175, who is number two or three everywhere. We have a lot going on.”

He also plans on bringing back heavyweight contender Arslanbek Makmudov, off the back of defeats to Agit Kabayel and Guido Vianello in two of his last three fights. He hopes his giant heavyweight can “regain some confidence.”

Estephan said the plan was: “To put himself in camp, fix what he is missing, work on his trade and give him another fight. We’re going to give him another shot.”

And the stable is building, too, with the addition of 20-year-old Armenian lightweight prospect Erik Israyelyan.

“We’re working on something. We’re excited about a young prospect who’s going to be causing a lot of damage. We have a very good stable of young fighters, John Orobio, Wilken Mathieu… and we’re adding another of that caliber I believe, Erik Israyelyan, and we’re in the process of finalizing his paperwork to move to Canada. He’s a blue-chip prospect who will do a lot of damage.”

[keithmoonhangover]

Now that's a good matchup. Mbilli's gone under the radar a little bit. If it's in Canada, I would favour him to get the win.

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Purse bids are December 10

[keithmoonhangover]

Purse bids are December 10

Hopefully it happens.

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Mbilli Won’t be ready for this bout on January 25..

So Pacheco will fight 36 year old Steven Nelson.

[aumonier]

According to french newspaper L'Equipe, the fight between Mbilli and Pacheco has been cancelled, Pacheco declined the opportunity. Instead, Mbilli is scheduled to fight Jaime Munguia in April for a WBC eliminator (if Munguia wins against another frenchman, he fights Bruno Surace in a few days)

https://www.lequipe.fr/Boxe/Actualites/ ... im/1526167

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Christian Mbilli-Diego Pacheco: WBC orders purse bid for interim title fight

Not even the allure of a secondary title at stake was enough to get Christian Mbilli and Diego Pacheco on the same page.

The WBC has called for an April 8 purse bid to determine promotional rights for an Mbilli-Pacheco interim super middleweight title fight, BS has confirmed. The ruling was made after it was determined that enough time had lapsed for the two sides to reach an agreement.

Mbilli, 28-0 (23 KOs), is co-promoted by Eye of the Tiger Management (EOTTM) and Top Rank. Pacheco, 23-0 (18 KOs), is a homegrown Matchroom Boxing contender.

The winner of the proposed bout would become the WBC mandatory challenger to lineal and unified super middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, 62-2-2 (39 KOs).

That’s if the fight moves forward – a big question given Mbilli’s frustrating track record of landing the fights he craves.

An unbeaten 29-year-old contender from Montreal (by way of Cameroon), Mbilli has long sought out the best fights at super middleweight.

The ordered bout represents his second round of talks with Pacheco and Matchroom; the two parties were previously instructed to reach terms for an IBF-ordered title eliminator. It went all the way to a purse bid hearing before Matchroom pulled Pacheco – a 24-year-old contender from South Central Los Angeles – from the mix because, at the time, he already had a scheduled fight against unbeaten Steven Nelson.

Pacheco defeated Nelson via 12-round unanimous decision in their January 25 headliner from Chelsea Theater at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. It was teased at the time that his next fight would land around May or June. The back end is still the targeted timeframe while Pacheco, also the WBO No. 1 contender, weighs his options.

Mbilli was instead steered towards an IBF eliminator against Kevin Lele Sadjo. That ordered bout also went to a purse bid, which was won by Y12 Boxing, Sadjo’s promoter, which planned to stage the bout on May 8 in Paris.

Camille Estephan, head of EOTTM and Mbilli’s promoter, insisted that his company was outbid unfairly. The basis of the claim was that EOTTM participated under the belief that the fight had to take place within 90 days of the January 30 hearing.

Y12 chose the May 8 fight date to coincide with Victory Day, a widely celebrated holiday in France. That line of thinking wasn’t enough to convince EOTTM that it was done in good faith, as a decision was made to pull Mbilli from the fight.

The development has left Mbilli out of the ring since last August, an unfortunate career turn after his three-win 2024 campaign. His third and final victory of the year was a 10-round unanimous decision over former title challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko in Quebec City, Canada, last August 17.

Another failed attempt to lure Pacheco into the ring could further extend Mbilli’s downtime. The process would reset as his team seeks out a challenge against the next-highest-ranked available contender.

It was agreed upon by the WBC Board of Governors to allow an interim title into the mix given Alvarez’s planned 2025 campaign. The Mexican superstar is first due to face IBF titlist William Scull, 23-0 (9 KOs), for the undisputed championship on May 3 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The event will mark Alvarez’s Riyadh Season debut as part of a lucrative four-fight pact and his first career fight outside of North America, though a return to the US is planned immediately thereafter. It would come in the form of a super-fight with Terence "Bud" Crawford, 41-0 (31 KOs), a four-division champ who would move up from junior middleweight for the proposed September blockbuster event in Las Vegas.

Mbilli can only hope that the detours he has been forced to take will finally lead to a title shot by that point.

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[Cent0089]

Fu!k Pacheco for this. Hopefully Mbilli will get Canelo shot and not him. Really waiting who his next oponent will be, what do you think

[gregregegg]

Quack

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