Canelo Alvarez believes Christian Mbilli’s aggressive style has been designed for his counterpunching. After losing to Terence Crawford and going almost five years without a knockout, Canelo has selected a champion who willingly walks into the exchanges he prefers.
Mbilli last fought on the same card as Canelo in September 2025. While Crawford comfortably outboxed Canelo, Mbilli and Lester Martinez battered one another through ten rounds in a majority draw.
Canelo didn’t see much boxing skill in their performance.
“There’s no way he can fight like that [against me] because I’m not Martinez,” Canelo told Mbilli during DAZN’s Face Off. “They took and threw punches like crazy, and they are strong, of course. But that’s not boxing.
“It’s just a different level. He’s going to find out. I love that style, him coming forward, and he’s strong.”
That last line explains why Mbilli was chosen. Canelo has struggled with mobile boxers who change angles, control distance, and refuse to remain within countering range. Mbilli offers none of that subtlety. He attacks along straight lines, throws in volume, and accepts return fire to land his own punches.
Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs) will challenge Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs) for the WBC super middleweight title on October 31 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. DAZN will carry the Ring card through its Ultimate subscription and on pay-per-view.
Mbilli throws wide punches from the outside, leaving large channels through the center. Canelo is built to exploit those openings with the right uppercut and short left hook inside the guard. Against Martinez, Mbilli’s head frequently remained centered while he fired combinations, allowing straight punches to split his defense.
Canelo will plant his feet and look for those gaps early. His plan is likely to land enough clean counters during the opening four rounds to make Mbilli hesitate before attacking.
The danger for Canelo begins if Mbilli refuses to be intimidated.
Canelo has become an economy fighter who often throws between 25 and 35 punches per round. He works in short bursts before resting along the ropes or walking his opponent around the ring. Mbilli regularly operates at a much higher rate, sometimes producing 65 to 80 punches per round.
If Canelo spends the middle rounds catching punches on his gloves without answering, Mbilli can bank rounds through activity. Judges may reward the fighter applying pressure and sustaining his offense, particularly when Canelo’s counters become less frequent.
Body punching creates an additional hazard. Canelo attacks the midsection to slow movers, but Mbilli hunts the ribs during close exchanges. Absorbing repeated body shots at 36 would test Canelo’s legs and stamina during the final four rounds.
Canelo nevertheless treated the result as a formality.
“He couldn’t beat me if I was 50 years old, or 60,” Canelo said. “He can’t beat me in this life. It’s just a different level, and he is going to find out. He needs 10 of him to beat me.”
That is an extraordinary level of contempt for the champion holding Canelo’s former WBC belt. It also gives Canelo an obligation to deliver more than another carefully managed decision.
Canelo’s comments are pure bravado designed to mask the reality of his decline. Claiming a world champion could not beat him at age 50 or 60 sounds theatrical, but it reveals how dependent he remains on the mystique of his prime. The problem for Canelo is that fighters do not age backward, and his recent performances provide a clear blueprint of what remains of his skillset.
At 36, Canelo has become a low-volume counterpuncher with heavy feet. When fighters do not fear his single-shot counters or refuse to freeze after getting clipped, Canelo gets dragged into grueling physical contests where his low work rate becomes a liability.
His history with excuses has worn out its welcome. Blaming hand, wrist, or knee injuries after getting handled by elite movers like Crawford or Dmitry Bivol failed to work with the public. Claiming an alibi after hand-picking Mbilli would be impossible to sell. Canelo chose Mbilli specifically because he viewed him as a stationary, high-volume slugger who would bring the fight directly into his wheelhouse.
If Mbilli walks through Canelo’s early right uppercuts and forces him to fight at a 70-punch-per-round pace, Canelo will find himself trapped in a physical war of attrition. Getting outworked by a pressure fighter he publicly ridiculed would end the aura completely.