September thirteenth, Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, on the Canelo vs. Bud undercard on Netflix. Ten rounds scheduled at 168lbs. Moments like this are what makes following the sport exciting for me - two guys I've followed since very early in their careers if not the very beginning, after several years willingly entering the crucible and putting all their prospect momentum and their hard-earned world rankings (and in this case, also their zeroes) on the line. M'Billi currently holds the WBC interim championship, while Martínez is ranked #7 in the world by the WBC, #15 by the WBO, and #3 by the WBA. M'billi was originally in talks for an IBF eliminator versus fellow undefeated Cameroonian-French powerhouse Kévin "Phenomen / The Punisher" Lele Sadjo for a mooted contest in May. Sadjo is ranked #10 by the WBO, IBF, and WBC - so his day in the sun will hopefully come soon. Both have phenomenal knockout rates - 83% for M'billi and 84% for Martínez. Their reach is identical, while the Guatemalan has a 2½″ height advantage. Common opponents: Carlos Gongora Mercado - lost to M'billi via UD10 in 2023 and to Martínez via UD10 a year later. Arlen López Cardona - defeated M'billi once in the amateurs, won a trilogy of very close fights with Martínez in the amateurs (MD & SD for López; SD for Martínez
It's crazy that Martinez professional debut was a 2nd round knockout of former two-division world champion Ricardo Mayorga. I'll go with Mbilli via mid round stoppage.
Martinez has the slight edge in this fight, IMO. My main concern is his health problems. He has pulled out of a few fights due to migraines. Even in his last fight, which was for July, he was diagnosed with a severe migraines and the fight was called off.. Hopefully he gets a brain scan and thorough examination, because otherwise it could be very dangerous.
MBilli by unanimous decision, I think it's too early this fight for Lester Martinez but he is a serious prospect on this division.
Best fight on the whole card for me, I think Mbili wins on points, but any outcome would not surprise me—two excellent fighters.