The super middleweight division has undertaken several changes recently. Most noteworthy was Canelo Alvarez losing his Ring and undisputed titles to Terence Crawford on September 13.

On that show, Christian Mbilli and Lester Martinez fought to an eventful 10-round draw, and earlier in month, the boogeyman of the division Osleys Iglesias beat down and stopped Vladimir Shishkin in eight-rounds.

On Thursday, we'll see an intriguing looking 168-pound matchup between rising force Wilkens Mathieu (14-0, 10 KOs) and the vastly more experienced Shakeel Phinn (27-3-2, 17 KOs).

Eye of The Tiger president Camille Estephan, who also promotes Iglesias (14-0, 13 KOs), rated at No. 2 by The Ring at super middleweight, and Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs), rated at No. 3, welcomes the opportunity to advance another's claim in the super middleweight division. Will it be the young upstart or the veteran?

"I'm very excited about the fight," Estephan told The Ring. "We believe Wilkens Mathieu is a star in the making. We're testing him very early - at the age of 20 - but we feel he's ready. This fight will tell us where he is at this stage of his career. We're very confident he's the future of Quebec boxing and international boxing; he has the caliber to be a world champion for a very long time.

"Shak Phinn needs this opportunity to show he can be a part of the elite. It's a massive fight for him. Both guys are super motivated. I've had news that both are well prepared. I think both went to Philly and had tremendous camps. I can't wait for that fight."

Estephan and his company will then reset their focus on his next event, 14 days later, which had been scheduled to see the eagerly anticipated local showdown between Erik Bazinyan (32-1-1, 23 KOs) and Steven Butler (36-5-1, 30 KOs), only for the former to again be sidelined with an injury.

The promotional company acted quickly to bring in Stéphane Fondjo (14-1-1, 9 KOs) to face Butler on November 13 at Montreal Casino.

"Stephane Fondjo was in preparation on November 8, he's been sparring to Shakeel Phinn for his fight with Wilkens Mathieu, so we know he's going to be ready," said the promoter.

"He's very eager because this is the opportunity of a lifetime for him and we know he's very good, 6-foot-3, strong, his loss was very controversial. He has been sparring with a lot of guys, so we know he belongs in the ring. He'll be very motivated and desperate fighter, so it's always a dangerous fight. Butler will have to take him very seriously."

Questions/comments can be sent to Anson at elraincoat@live.co.uk and you can follow him on X @AnsonWainwr1ght.