The undercard for the Sept. 13 blockbuster undisputed super middleweight title fight between champion Canelo Alvarez and challenger Terence Crawford at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas is beginning to take shape.
Christian Mbilli (29-0, 24 KOs) will face Lester Martinez (19-0, 16 KOs) as the undefeated super middleweight knockout artists will jockey for a title opportunity. Mbilli, ESPN's No. 2-ranked super middleweight, blitzed Maciej Sulecki in June with a first-round knockout to become the WBC interim champion at 168 pounds. Fighting out of Guatemala, Martinez is coming off a fourth-round knockout of Joeshon James in March and has stopped six of his past seven opponents.
The co-main event will feature undefeated Irishman Callum Walsh (14-0, 11 KOs) in a 10-round junior middleweight bout against Fernando Vargas Jr. (17-0, 15 KOs). Promoted by Tom Loeffler's 360 Promotions, Walsh is mentored by UFC CEO Dana White and has been a fixture on UFC Fight Pass throughout his career. The expectation is that Walsh will be one of the key fighters to carry TKO Group's Zuffa Boxing as they prepare for launch. Walsh will have to get past the 28-year-old son of former world champion Fernando Vargas. Vargas Jr. last fought in May and secured a fourth-round stoppage of Gonzalo Coria.
Also announced for the Sept. 13 card streaming live on Netflix is a six-round lightweight bout between Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Alakel (4-0) and John Ornelas (5-2).