Christian Mbilli has rapidly emerged as one of the most dangerous contenders in the super middleweight division. Known for his relentless pressure and high-volume offense, Mbilli boasts an impressive 100% win record in the professional ranks, with over 75% of those victories coming by knockout. His aggressive style and ability to break opponents down have earned him comparisons to boxing greats known for their come-forward approach.

But where did the French-Cameroonian start? At the Olympics, Rio 2016, to be specific. How did he fare? Did he end up stepping onto the podium? Let’s find out.

Did Christian Mbilli win an Olympic medal?

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Mbilli won two fights, against the Ukrainian Dmytro Mytrofanov and then the Ecuadorian Marlon Delgado. But the quarterfinal bout was where Mbilli ran into a roadblock, losing that bout against Arlen Lopez of Cuba. In fact, it was Lopez who went on to win the gold. 

So, since Mbilli got eliminated in the quarterfinals, he did not proceed to the podium at the 2016 Rio Olympics. And since that was the only Olympic Games where he participated, Christian Mbilli never really got the chance to redeem himself at subsequent Olympics. However, despite not winning at the Olympics, the Frenchman found immense success as an amateur boxer. 

Prior to his stance at the 2016 Summer Olympics, ‘Solide’ participated in the 2013 European Youth Championships and bagged the gold medal. He got another gold medal at the 2014 European Union Games. Nevertheless, Mbilli decided to turn to the world of professional boxing in 2017 and has been dominating the squared circle ever since. 

What about the French boxer’s professional career? Has he ever claimed a championship belt during his tenure as a professional fighter?

Christian Mbilli’s professional boxing career

Under the guidance of Marc Ramsay, ‘Solide’ began his professional journey with a second-round KO win over Adrian Arenas. And after about a year, he secured regional titles like the WBC Francophone middleweight title.. He went on to win 18 back-to-back fights before facing Ronny Landaeta in 2021. The fight only lasted till round three, and Christian Mbilli became the WBC Continental Americas super middleweight champion. He defended this title twice in 2021 and 2022, and then moved on to fight for the vacant WBA international belt. 

Mbilli defeated DeAndre Ware with an overhand right in the second round to win the belt. Following that, he defended his title successfully against Carlos Gongora, Demond Nicholson, Rohan Murdock, Mark Heffron, and Sergiy Derevyanchenko. And in his last fight, the Frenchman fought Mciej Sulecki for the vacant interim WBC world super middleweight title. 

As a professional, Mbilli fought 29 fights in 9 years, and is yet to taste defeat. Out of these wins, he won 22 fights via finishes. This highlights the kind of strength the French fighter carries in his fists. But can he continue to showcase the same at the Zuffa Boxing, against Lester Martinez? We’ll have to wait till Saturday night to find that out!