Canelo Alvarez Confirms Mbilli Fight For September in Riyadh

WBC super middleweight title fight set for Mexican Independence weekend on Saudi-backed card

Canelo Alvarez will face Christian Mbilli for the WBC super middleweight title during the September 12–14 window in Riyadh. The fight places him straight back into a championship setting following his loss to Terence Crawford.

The fight is expected to land on Mexican Independence Day weekend, with dates in the September 12–14 range being discussed. It would headline a Saudi-backed card and would headline a major “Mexico vs. The World” card, keeping with Canelo’s tradition of fighting during key Mexican holidays, even if the venue has shifted to the Middle East.

This is a stylistic nightmare for the version of Canelo we’ve seen lately. At 35 and coming off that left elbow surgery, Canelo is taking on a guy who is 31 and essentially a human cardio machine.

If he does very little in the championship rounds against Mbilli, as we saw against Crawford, the judges won’t be able to ignore the sheer volume of leather coming his way.

“BREAKING: Canelo Alvarez and Christian Mbilli have a done deal to fight in September in Riyadh for the WBC super middleweight championship,” said Mike Coppinger on X.

It’s almost like Canelo is trying to prove his stamina isn’t shot by picking the one guy who will test it the most. Choosing a volume monster when your own gas tank is flickering is a massive risk.

Starting with the Bivol loss and continuing through Munguia, Berlanga, and Crawford, Canelo has shown a consistent pattern of winning early rounds, only to hit a physical wall. In those late rounds against Crawford, Canelo spent a lot of time simply watching Crawford work.

After the Terence Crawford loss, the critics were ready to pounce if Canelo took an easy touch, like what they feel is WBA champion, Jose Armando Resendiz. By taking Mbilli in Riyadh, he’s signaling to the world he isn’t ready to go into semi-retirement mode just yet.

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