Canelo Alvarez appears to have his next fight set.
The 35-year-old Mexican star has been expected to headline a card in Riyadh on September 12, and it appears he will be facing Christian Mbilli, who holds the WBC super middleweight title, having been elevated from interim status following the retirement of Terence “Bud” Crawford.
Mike Coppinger and Ring Magazine report that there is a “done deal” for September in Riyadh, and given that promoter Turki Alalshikh owns Ring Magazine, you would suspect
this is pretty accurate.
Mbilli, 31, had been considered the lead candidate to face Canelo in what has been billed as a “Mexico vs The World” event in Saudi Arabia.
Both Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KO) and Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KO) failed to secure victory in their last appearances on September 13, 2025, in Las Vegas. That was the night Canelo lost to Crawford, and on the undercard, Mbilli fought to a hard draw with Lester Martinez.
It’s a serious test for Canelo upon his return. Mbilli may be flawed, but he’s tough and a good puncher with some skills, and a serious player at 168 lbs. Canelo isn’t getting any younger and his peak years have certainly passed, but he’s still a very good fighter and one of the biggest stars in the sport, so the upside for Mbilli here is obvious, this is a can’t-miss chance for him to make his own name in a big way.
Do you think Canelo will return with a win, or can Mbilli beat him and possibly send Canelo into retirement?
