Super-middleweights Christian Mbilli (23-0, 20KOs) and Carlos Gongora (21-1 16KOs) slugged it out for ten rounds at the Montreal Casino, Montreal, Canada, in one of the most entertaining, competitive, yet deservedly one-sided scorecards in favour of Mbilli. Mbilli had to survive to keep his undefeated record, while Gongora demonstrated powers of recovery which can only be admired.
Mbilli of France and a 2016 Olympian, came into the contest as the red-hot favourite with the bookmakers and was seeking to make a statement. Promoters, Eye Of The Tiger, spoke pre-fight exploring opportunities to manoeuvre the twenty-seven-year-old into title contention. On the other hand, Gongora was seeking to continue his rebuild following his sole defeat to Lerrone Richards in 2021 on a spit decision.
Mbilli came out of the corner seeking to make an impression with a fast start, targeting the body of Gongora. Gongora was more than comfortable with this as he could throw his trademark left uppercut and land this entirely of his choosing as Mbilli was seeking to work while on the chest of Gongara. Gongora landed the more accurate and telling shots compared to Mbilli, who was guilty of throwing shots that were not there to be thrown.
The second saw Mbilli rocked, hurt and down on the canvas inside ninety seconds of the round following a left uppercut. However, the referee, Steve St Germain, incorrectly ruled this a slip.
Round three saw Mbilli come back strong, making subtle adjustments to counter the uppercut, forcing Gongora onto the ropes, and looking to turn around the lead foot of Gongora and fire with the right hand to the body. This, however, would be an invitation for Gongora to keep throwing the left uppercut, but it was limited in its success.
The fourth saw Mbilli keep on with the pressure targeting the body with various variations to the head. Gongara was happy to keep biding his time and attempting to lure Mbilli into mistakes which ultimately came into effect in the final minute of the round. Gongara was able to land several uppercuts catching Mbilli clean. However, the Frenchman could sustain his momentum and keep landing his shots with a right hand at the end of the round, landing cleanly, on the side of the head.
The fifth round saw Mbilli box smartly after adapting his tactics to move around the lead foot away from Gongara's left hand. Mbilli landed heavy shots throughout the round with an incredibly high work rate. Mbilli landed two of his best shots of the fight so far with two overhand rights, which snapped the head back of Gongora in the centre of the ring, continuing the gaining momentum of Mbill. Instead of holding on, Gongora opted to fight back with his own shots.
The seven was a more even affair, with Mbilli forgetting to do what he was doing, moving to the left around the lead foot. Gongora could land his left uppercut flush on Mbilli several times and throw with Mbilli.
Round eight was a big round for Gongora, who hit Mbilli with a huge uppercut in the opening sequence of the round, leaving Mbilli hanging on to his undefeated record by a thread. Mbilli was defenceless other than being able to smother the work of Gongora and regain his composure and footing. The final minute of the round saw Mbilli come back fighting and land big heavy right hooks to the head and body. In the last thirty seconds, he crunched a hook combination which staggered Gongora as the bell rang to end the round.
Mbilli fired with both hands in the ninth, landing huge punches that Gongora took well to his head and body. During the tenth and final round, Mbilli was tired but still outworking Gongora during the action. In the closing moments, Mbilli finally hurt Gongora with a series of punches and had him ready to go when the bell rang.
Mbilli, despite being hurt severely twice, claimed a deserved victory on the scorecards by unanimous decision with scores of 97-93, 98-92 & 99-91.
In the co-main event, Simon Kean (22-1, 21 KOs) scored a highlight reel knockdown of Eric Molina (28-9, 21 KOs) in seven rounds in what could well be the last time Molina enters a professional ring if Molina's pre-fight comments are to be believed.
The opening round was an even affair, with both fighters apprehensive about throwing anything of note, but that was not to last in the second round.
Molina started the second round confidently with three over-the-top right hands early, rocking Kean against the ropes. However, Kean knocked the confidence out of Molina with a heavy right cross putting Molina on the back foot. However, Kean looked apprehensive about letting his hands go and allowing Molina to regain his composure.
The third saw Kean was able to slow down the attacks of Molina with a composed round behind the jab and pick his moments to attack with a traditional in-and-out method of attack with his feet, letting two-three shot combinations go and moving out of range several times. Molina was able to let off a combination to the body in the final minute. Kean landed a big right-hand straight in the last ten seconds against Molina.
Molina, in round four, looked more than happy to survive with a tame affair until the final ten seconds. A left-right from Kean saw Molina launch from far back with a right hand but missed. However, Kean did sustain a cut from a clash of heads.
The fifth was a scrappy affair, with Molina looking to clinch and smother the work of Kean. Kean was able to land a classy one-two at the midway point of the round.
The sixth saw Molina and Kean have success with their right hands. Molina would land three right hands quickly by closing the distance with one stunning Kean, who was off balance standing on one leg. Molina went in for a fourth, but Kean countered with a right hook, stunning Molina and knocking any ambition he had left in the round.
The seventh was an action-packed round, with both landing hard shots leaving both fighters wobbled and shaken. However, Kean scored the decisive punch with a right hand, generating the space required to feint himself into range. Kean threw a chopping right hand onto the head of Molina, which floored the American from Rio Grande Valley, Texas, to the floor heavily. Molina rose to his feat; however, referee, Yvon Goulet, waved off the contest after 2:39 of the round.
Earlier in the evening, Super-Lightweight Steve Claggett (33-7-2, 23KO's) scored a seventh-round stoppage against a very game Rafael Guzman (26-2-2, 16KO's) in an affair which was fought at close quarters for the majority of the fight. Claggett was able to show his superior technical ability and land the classier work compared to Guzman despite the attritional nature of the fight regarding the volume of punches thrown by both men.
Round one was a fast affair with both trading and landing, Guzman targeted the body sufficiently, but Claggett could counter before pushing the Mexican opponent backwards with his footwork and feints.
Claggett impressed in the second round, blocking and parrying the work of Guzman and fighting up close with an incredible repertoire of hooks to the body and uppercuts and circling Guzman. A double jab that rocked Guzman onto the ropes was the highlight.
The third followed a similar pattern for Claggett. However, Claggett was able to force Guzman onto the back foot late in the round. The space gave Claggett the opportunity for two attacks on the ropes with individual attacks of one-two combinations. Round four was a virtual repeat of the previous round, with both fighters wanting to fight up close. Despite the dominance of the round by Clagget, who landed with volume, Guzman landed a left hook to the body, forcing Claggett to take a step back.
Round five saw Clagget let Guzman work at his pace, which was fast and uneducated in punches thrown. Claggett could catch the shots on his gloves and arms, which triggered Claggett to counter successfully.
An unfortunate break in the momentum due to spilt water and ice in the corner of Guzman saw Guzman rejuvenated in energy levels allowing the round to be more competitive. However, Claggett was still more technically superior.
Clagget was able to wrestle the momentum away from Guzman in the seventh and forcing Guzman back to the ropes and able to find the space to counter. Claggett punched through the guard with the jab when the space was found for Claggett. A straight right late in the round snapped the head back of Guzman against the ropes, with Guzman finally showing severe signs of fatigue after a fast-paced round.
Guzman, looking vulnerable and tired in the corner, was withdrawn from the fight by his coach and father, much to the adulation of Claggett. The contest was officially called at 3:00 of round seven.
Luis Santana (8-0, 2KOs) halted Francisco Martinez (11-6, 4KOs) after 1:26 of the third round of a scheduled eight-round contest in the lightweight division. Santana, physically, was under-matched compared to Martinez, who looked at least one weight class lower in size than Santana. Santana used the physical advantages he had to push Martinez onto the back foot and was able to land hooks and uppercuts from the start. Santana showed his class in the third round with a heavy jab, rocking Martinez onto the ropes before a left hook to the liver of Martinez forced the referee into giving a standing count. Martinez turned his back from the action, with the referee, Yvon Goulet, giving an eight count despite the protests of Martinez claiming the hook he had received was a foul. Despite this, the corner of Martinez withdrew their fighter from the contest.
Leila Beaudoin (8-0, 1 KO) extended her record to nine wins with a unanimous decision victory over Mexico's Laura Avendano (6-0, 2 KOs). The contest was initially scheduled to take place at the super-featherweight limit of 130 lbs. However, Avendano missed weight by weighing in at 136.5 lbs. Beaudoin agreed for the fight to go ahead despite a six-pound weight discrepancy between the fighters. Beaudoin produced an accomplished display over six rounds and did well to negate Avendano around the ring to land clean shots at range. Beaudoin particularly excelled in rounds five and six as she upped the tempo of the contest and caught her Mexican opponent with some crisp and fast combinations. To Avendano's credit, she absorbed the punches of Beaudoin and was not wobbled or stunned at any point of the contest. Beaudoin scored three identical scores of 60-54 across all three judges score cards.
Wilkens Mathieu (1-0 1KO) improved his record to 2-0 with a dominating win over Jose Gonzalez Saldana (1-2-1) over four rounds. The super-middleweight contest was one-sided, with Mathieu facing very little resistance considering his height, size and youth with an eighteen-year age gap (18-36). The highlight of the contest was a double left hook from Mathieu in the second round, which opened a cut on the right eye of Saldana. Mathieu claimed scores of 40-36 across all three judges' scorecards.
Jhon Orobio made a successful start to life in the professional ranks with a stoppage victory against Alejandro Medina de la Rosa (2-1, 2 KOs) after 1:35 of the opening round of a scheduled four rounds. The renowned trainer trains the nineteen-year-old Marc Ramsey, was a former decorated amateur in the junior ranks and is from Colombia.
Orobio demonstrated fast handspeed against his Mexican opponent and showed significant shot variation. After one minute, a right uppercut stunned De La Rosa, which saw Orobio seeking to finish the contest. A long left rocked De La Rosa, which caused him to stagger backwards on unsteady legs, with the referee, Alain Villeneuve, stepping in immediately to halt the contest.
Opening the promotion, former Canadian amateur team member Vanessa Lepage Joanisse (3-1, 1KO) marked her return to the ring after a five-year lay-off with a comprehensive unanimous points victory over Princess Hairston (2-1-1) over four rounds. Joanisse, a former WBC world female heavyweight title challenger, outgunned Hairston with very clinical combinations and used her robust frame and size advantages well. Joanisee scored points totals of 40-36 across all three judges' scorecards.
