Photo: Queensberry Promotions – Mark Heffron, posing here with the British, Commonwealth and IBF Intercontinental super middleweight championship titles.
After the United States and Australia, Christian Mbilli (26-0, 22 KOs) will attempt a British conquest against Mark Heffron (30-3-1, 24 KOs), on the May 25th, at the Gervais Auto Center in Shawinigan. If you don’t know the English boxer, the next lines are for you.
A super-middleweight top 50 on BoxRec. The 32-year-old athlete is nicknamed ‘Kid Dynamite’. We start with that because this nickname is quite representative of his boxing style…
Power puncher from Oldham, England, Mark Heffron boxes with heavy hands and movements. A friend of the judges, he likes to make them work as little as possible. We have to look 8 fights back, in September 2020, to find a decision on his record, a draw against world title challenger Denzel Bentley.
A great victory
You have to look less far to find Heffron’s biggest career victory. On a card of the legendary promoter Frank Warren, in July 2022, he surprised, dominated and stopped Lennox Clarke (20-2-1, 8 KOs), in the 5th round. It was in this fight that he won the three belts you see in the picture.
The celebrations did not last, thought.
He lost last September, stopped in the third round by world contender Jack Cullen (22-5-1, 10 KOs). Previously, his only two other losses were at the hands of contenders Denzel Bentley (in a rematch) and Liam Williams.
A new coach
Since this defeat, the Englishman bounced back last February, stopping the limited, but normally more durable, Serhii Ksendzov (4-22, 2 KOs) in the 2nd round.
This fight is mainly mentioned because it was his first with cornerman Lee Beard.
To give you an idea, Beard has previously worked with legend Ricky Hatton and more recently Jack Catterall. On the other side, Heffron was previously trained by James Gallagher, until the Cullen setback.
One thing is for sure, the victory and the corner change completely reinvigorated ‘Kid Dynamite’s’ confidence. On March 10, in an interview with Boxingscene, his manager said that his guy was ready to face anyone, from 168 to 175 pounds, in Europe or America. His wish is now granted.
The good, the bad and the odds
Good: we know Mbilli as an offensive train sometimes ready to be hit once to beat up his opponent twice. Heffron has hammers in his gloves. Be careful, for the time it lasts, it could be dangerous on both sides.
Bad: Heffron undoubtedly hits harder than Murdock, Mbilli’s last opponent. His three defeats, however, suggest that he does not have as good a chin as the Australian. Which means, way less good than the one of ‘Solide’.
Odds: unlike Murdock – who was also unsuccessful – it’s impossible to expect a ‘boxing lesson’ from Heffron. We can anticipate a kamikaze type fight, but when you ‘dance in hell’ with Mbilli, history shows that you have a good chance of finishing second…
By the way
Animal lover: in the Daily Mail, we learn that Heffron is an ardent defender of the rights of the American Bully, ‘a cross between the American Staffordshire Terrier and the American Pit Bull Terrier’, says Wikipedia. This story stands out because the American Bully was deemed dangerous and banned from England last December.
A new man: in a strange story, Mark Heffron was arrested almost ten years ago. The crime? Injuring his father, ex-professional boxer Tommy Heffron (3-1, 1 KO). The weapon? A samurai sword. Whatever, the son got off with a fine and community service and the two men have since made peace. Today, ‘Kid Dynamite’ fights strictly with his fists and for family honor. We can even see the names of his daughter, but also of his late mother, on his fight trunk.
Business trip: without swords involved, Christian Mbilli will be the favorite on May 25. A fact remains, without taking anything away from the Cité de l’Énergie, the Brit assured that he was not coming as a ‘tourist’. His promise: pull off the fight of night and recross the Atlantic with the victory.
