Certain fighters are synonymous with certain trainers: Muhammad Ali and Angelo Dundee, Manny Pacquiao and Freddie Roach, Canelo Alvarez and Eddy Reynosa.
Christian Mbilli and Marc Ramsay have a similar close bond, but to put it over the top they need to beat Alvarez in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
"This is an opportunity we want to take and want to reach [those levels], but this is not an easy task to beat the guys like Canelo. But we really believe we can do it," Ramsay told The Ring. "We think it's the right time for Christian and be at that level."
The veteran trainer, who was appointed director of boxing development at Eye Of The Tiger in 2021, has worked with Mbilli for a decade, first making contact with him prior to the 2016 Olympics. EOTT is Mbilli's promoter.
"I found at that time the French team was very strong, but I found inside of that team he was a little under the radar," he said. "He was, to me, maybe not the guy with the best potential to win an Olympic medal but the best potential to be a pro. He had the right style. He was winning with a pro style.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kH1iUhhAm8
"I contacted him to see if he had some plan after the Olympic Games and he already knew who I was. I proposed him to a promoter and one point he said he had interest, but I didn't want to rush him, so I told him, 'Let's focus on the Olympics now.'"
Ramsay invited Mbilli to meet him in New York City in June 2016, where they spent time together and attended Keith Thurman vs. Shawn Porter. They never discussed working together.
"I have a contact inside the French team. I have good reports on his discipline and work ethic, but I want to make sure he have the right personality to work with me," he said. "I wanted to meet him face to face."
Two months later, Mbilli reached the quarterfinals of the Rio Games, losing to eventual gold medalist Arlen Lopez.
True to his word, Ramsay reached out to Mbilli and quickly brokered a deal for him to come to Montreal, where the fighter made a big impression from the beginning.
"He stayed at my house and I told him, 'Take the time that you need. We're going to find an apartment and everything.’ Usually when I do those kinds of operations, I have to do almost everything myself," Ramsay said.
"When I woke up in the morning, he went to the store, bought the Montreal newspaper and was looking to find an apartment and he was already working by himself, not waiting for me. I realized, 'OK, it’s not going to be long.' He speaks French, so he was able to communicate with people in Quebec but had this inside him. At a young age, he was a man."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvXT26gBkkc&t=208s
Since then, the two have worked together.
"Christian is a guy who was born in Africa and was raised in poverty, and I think it's still something he has inside him," Ramsay said. "His mother moved to France, and he followed her and had a better life in France.
"I feel that in every exercise, in every sparring, he fights to change his life."
He has also seen the evolution of Mbilli as he's risen through the ranks.
"When he came Eleider Alvarez was [WBO light heavyweight] world champion, but the real captain of the team was [Artur] Beterbiev," Ramsay said. "He could see what it was to be champion. Mbilli looked at him as a model, and now he's the one who influences guys like Jhon Orobio and Moreno [Fendero] and the young guys who come to the company. I think he took over that team captain title.
"It's good because every single bench press, every single sprint, he wants to win. He's not trying just to train. He's fighting against Orobio. He's fighting against Moreno and they want to win every exercise. It’s a challenge. They have a good relationship, but they never want to finish second and it's very good for the team."
Ramsay has long wanted and waited patiently for one of his fighters to face Alvarez.
"You want to beat the guy who is on the throne, and this is what we are going to try to do on October 31," he said. "With David Lemieux we had some promises, but it never went through. We had some discusses about Beterbiev and Canelo at one point.
"I said I want to get closer to those kinds of fights. I told him, 'Don't wait on Canelo, do you own stuff and force people to organize that fight with good performances and beating the guys who are in front of you and you'll force the channel to invest in that fight.'"
