Christian Mbilli is prepared to seize his breakthrough moment when he faces Lester Martinez on the undercard of the Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford fight on Sept. 13.

The world will be watching the action unfold on Netflix from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, and that’s exactly what Mbilli, a French-Cameroonian based in Canada, wants.

“I'm ready to put on a big show for this event and send a message that I am the next guy that will face the winner of Canelo-Crawford,” Mbilli told The Ring. “It's the fight of my life, but I'm ready to show the world how great I am.”

Mbilli (29-0, 24 KOs) is The Ring’s No. 1-rated fighter at 168 pounds and is coming in hot off a one-round demolition of Maciej Sulecki in June for the WBC interim title. A unanimous-decision win against Sergiy Derevyanchenko in August 2024 preceded that.

Martinez (19-0, 16 KOs) is rated No. 3 (WBA), No. 7 (WBC) and No. 15 (IBF) and is coached by Crawford’s trainer Brian McIntyre. The 29-year-old from Guatemala must overcome a history of health problems that have forced him to abruptly pull out of three fights on short notice over the last year.

“I hope he doesn't have any health issues before we fight,” said Mbilli. “Martinez looks like a very strong guy. He can box. He can fight. His power and physicality impress me. He looks complete. It's going to be a big challenge for me, but we are putting in the right strategies to beat him. I am not taking this fight lightly. It's not easy, and he could be my hardest fight yet. He's coming to fight and coming to win, but I will be ready.”

Martinez last fought in March when he stopped Joeshon James in four rounds. He was supposed to face Pierre Hubert Dibombe in July but pulled out of the matchup on fight week because of migraines.

Before beating James, Martinez scored a unanimous decision win against Carlos Gongora in June 2024. Mbilli also fought Gongora in March 2023 and notched a unanimous decision victory, but admitted that Martinez's win against the common opponent was more impressive.

“I think his performance against Gongora was better than mine,” said Mbilli. “Gongora touched me a little bit. But it doesn't matter once Martinez and I get in the ring. I'm going to make him pay once he makes mistakes. I have good power and good cardio and I'm going to win this fight.”