Photo: Matchroom Boxing – As he prepares for the biggest fight of his career, Rohan Murdock wants to left no doubt against Christian Mbilli.
Before any fight, no matter how formidable he is, boxers are categorized into two groups: favorites and underdogs. In the semi-final of the gala scheduled for January 13th at the Centre Vidéotron, Christian Mbilli will enter the ring as the favorite. However, his opponent, Rohan Murdock, believes that the roles will quickly reverse once the first bell rings.
“I’m here, and I’m here to win. Nobody gives me a chance, but they picked the wrong guy because I’ll surprise the whole world on January 13th,” he confidently asserts when asked what message he’d like to send to Christian Mbilli.
If he is so heavily favored, it’s because EOTTM’s protégé currently sits atop several rankings. This means that, outside of a possible championship fight against Canelo Alvarez, David Benavidez, or perhaps David Morrell, ‘Solid’ will always be the favorite. However, that doesn’t mean that Murdock, the 9th contender for the IBF crown, is any less dangerous.
“This kind of opportunity will open the doors for me to a world championship fight. I’ve been dreaming of it since I was 10 years old, so believe me, I won’t miss my chance,” assures the Down Under product.
A necessary passage
Not so long ago, Rohan Murdock (27-2, 19 KOs) found himself in the exact position as his upcoming opponent. After losing by a majority decision in his 3rd fight in 2011, he collected 22 consecutive victories. During this streak, there were no significant challenges for him. He was associated with fights against some of the biggest names in the division, from Andre Ward to Erik Bazinyan, without any of them materializing. Finally, the call came in March 2020 for a WBO eliminator against the undefeated Brit, Zach Parker, in Manchester, England.
“It was a close fight, but he got me in the end,” describes the fighter who fell in the 11th round, stating that he learned from his mistakes on the eve of his return to enemy territory.
“You step out of your comfort zone: the flight, the jet lag, the sleep. Against Parker, by the time of my fight, it was 3 am at my home. This time, we’re doing things very differently because we know what it takes to succeed,” adds the Australian who has since won his last three fights.
“In deep waters”
Beyond the 16-hour time difference between Quebec and Sydney, the real challenge will be in the ring, but Rohan Murdock believes that his versatility offers him several avenues to win the fight.
“I’m very good technically, but I’m also a boxer who likes to move forward, so I can do both. I can box, I can hit, and if he wants to go into deep waters, we can go into deep waters,” visualizes the 31-year-old athlete.
This means that with an Australian who enjoys boxing in “deep waters” and a Canadian-French-Cameroonian ready to “dance into hell,” the only surprising outcome would be if spectators were treated to a bad fight.
“A boxing lesson”
Ultimately, the goal of the Queensland pride doesn’t stop at offering a good fight or even winning; it’s to triumph emphatically.
“Christian is a good boxer, I don’t want to take anything away from him. He’s extremely talented offensively, but I believe he has some defensive flaws that I can exploit,” he analyzes, obviously without revealing the game plan.
“After that, what should we expect? For any boxer, the ideal scenario is to win by KO in the 1st round, so we’ll see, but what I can say is that no matter how long it lasts, it’s going to be a boxing lesson,” he concludes, confident, ready, and motivated to shake up the sports world on January 13th.
