The world title eliminator between Christian Mbilli and Kevin Lele Sadjo is no longer being held in May in Paris, France. The contest, expected to determine the next challenger for the IBF belt, has been canceled due to financial issues.
The team behind Sadjo (24-0, 21 KOs), Y12, won the purse bid to promote the event with $878,000, beating Eye of the Tiger, which promotes Mbilli (28-0, 23 KOs). The latter was set to receive 60%, being the higher-ranked contender.
EOTTM stated in its press release Tuesday that Mbilli requested “for his full purse to be deposited into an escrow account at least five days before the event. However, the French promoter, who was also attempting to schedule the event on May 8, beyond the initially agreed deadline of April 30, was unable to meet this requirement.”
“For such an important fight, it was just as important for my team and me to have certain financial guarantees,” Christian Mbilli said. “A lot has been said about the purse from the purse bid, but all we were asking for was confirmation that the money was actually there before the first bell.”
Cameroonian-born Christian Mbilli won three fights in 2024, defeating Sergiy Derevyanchenko by unanimous decision in his previous outing last August. The Montreal, Quebec-based 29-year-old is now seeking an opportunity to challenge for the interim WBC 168-pound strap.
“After careful consideration, we have decided to pursue an avenue that better aligns with our short- and medium-term objectives,” said Mbilli’s promoter and EOTTM president, Camille Estephan. “We are currently in discussions with the WBC for an interim world title bout in the super middleweight division against an opponent who will be announced shortly.”
According to L’Équipe, Yohan Zaoui, promoter of Sadjo and organizer of the fight, said (as translated from French) that he had “already deposited 20% of the total sum with the IBF and had agreed that DAZN would pay them directly what I was due to receive, which would have covered Mbilli’s purse.”
Cameroonian-born Kevin Lele Sadjo also went through the ropes three times last year, stopping Diego Gabriel Chaves in the fourth round last December. The Créteil, France-based 34-year-old is expected to face a new opponent.
The IBF super middleweight title is currently held by William Scull (23-0, 9 KOs) from Cuba. Mexico’s Canelo Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) is the division’s reigning unified WBA, WBC, and WBO champion. The pair square off for the undisputed title live on May 3 (ET) from Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.