Christian Mbilli made quick work of
Maciej Sulecki on Friday night.
The hard-hitting super middleweight contender stopped Poland's Sulecki only 2:28 into the first round of their scheduled 12-round fight for the WBC interim 168-pound championship.
A right uppercut by Mbilli, set up by a left hook to the body, dropped Sulecki to his side with 46 seconds to go in the opening round at Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Canada.
A stunned Sulecki barely beat Michael Griffin’s count. His legs were unsteady once he reached his feet, however, and Griffin understandably halted the action.
Mbilli's impressive victory didn't just earn him the WBC interim super middleweight title and moved him into position to challenge
Canelo Alvarez for his Ring, IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO 168-pound championships. It could secure Mbilli (29-0, 24 KOs)
a high-profile spot on the Alvarez-Terence Crawford undercard September 13 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Turki Alalshikh, the head of Riyadh Season,
mentioned Mbilli earlier this month as one of the fan-friendly fighters he wants to showcase on the Alvarez-Crawford card Netflix will stream worldwide to more than 300 million subscribers.
Warsaw's Sulecki (33-4, 13 KOs) lost by knockout for the second time in his past three fights.
Mbilli hoped to fight unbeaten Mexican-American contender
Diego Pacheco before his handlers secured a deal to instead face Sulecki on Friday night. Pacheco, who is ranked No. 1 among the WBO's super middleweight contenders,
turned down an offer to battle Mbilli, rated second by the WBO at that time.
Los Angeles' Pacheco (23-0, 18 KOs) will instead fight
Trevor McCumby (28-1, 21 KOs) on July 19 at the Dallas Cowboys' practice facility, Ford Center at The Star, in Frisco, Texas.
Pacheco stopped Sulecki last August 24, but it took Pacheco until the sixth round to beat him by technical knockout at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
Keith Idec is a senior writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing.