The resilience of Christian Mbilli paid off. As he took on water in the 8th round, the adopted Montrealer experienced an unexpected second wind to finish the round.

The bravery of Mbilli (24-0 20 KOs) was necessary since the Frenchman won by unanimous decision against Carlos Gongora (21-2, 16 KOs) and managed to defend his two belts in the main event at the Casino de Montreal on Thursday night.

Mbilli gave a flawless performance until the 8th round, but several combinations from the Ecuadorian reached the champion who seemed to crumble little by little. Often referred to as an adopted Montrealer, Mbilli was certainly able to count on the Casino crowd.

“Without lying to you, I saw my work go through it,” Mbilli admitted. I saw my hours of suffering in training. I saw my career goals. I thought I had to show my balls. He hurt me, it’s true, but I was better than him from the start of the fight. »

The crowd erupted when he broke his rival’s assault in the 8th round and remained on their feet for the remainder of the 10-round bout. She kept encouraging him.

“Without the audience, the fight would have been harder. She encouraged me so much. She was delirious! “, he launched, laughing.

Thanks to cards of 97-93, 98-92 and 99-91, Mbilli retained his World Boxing Association (WBA) International and World Boxing Council (WBC) Intercontinental belts.

With this fight, the 27-year-old pugilist wanted to send a message to Canelo Álvarez, who holds all four belts in the super middleweight division, and David Benavidez, interim WBC champion. It might not have been the message he wanted, but he proved his mettle against Gongora.