Canelo Alvarez will return to the ring this weekend, difficult Christian Mbilli for the WBC super-middleweight title in Riyadh.
Although the Saudi metropolis has been the goal of lethal attacks in current weeks, Canelo has arrived forward of his first battle in 13 months, after he was outpointed by fellow great Terence Crawford in Las Vegas.
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Against Mbilli, the 36-year-old Canelo faces a stern job; the Cameroonian is the youthful man, at 31, and he enters his first title defence with an unbeaten report.
Canelo Alvarez (proper) at the weigh-in for his battle with Terence Crawford (Getty)
Last time out, on the Canelo vs Crawford undercard, Mbilli fought Lester Martinez to a brutal draw to retain the interim WBC title, but he was later upgraded to common champion when Crawford retired.
Can Canelo show that he is still among the best in the world? Or, as he returns from elbow surgical procedure, will he show himself to be in the twilight of his great profession? Here’s all you need to know.
When is the battle?
Canelo vs Mbilli will take place on Saturday 31 October at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. No timings have yet been announced, but the principal card is expected to start at 6pm GMT (11am PT / 1pm CT / 2pm ET), with main-event ring walks following at around 10pm GMT (3pm PT / 5pm CT / 6pm ET).
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How can I watch it?
The occasion will stream dwell solely on DAZN pay-per-view at a price of £24.99 ($79.99 in the US), and on DAZN Ultimate Tier – which is priced at £24.99 per month. You can buy the battle or an Ultimate Tier subscription here.
Will the occasion go forward, and why is this a query?
The organisation of the battle card has been the subject of intense hypothesis in current weeks, due to quite a few lethal attacks on Riyadh’s airports. Per Saudi authorities, more than 300 people have been left injured and at least 21 useless, due to strikes by the Yemen-aligned Houthis.
The worldwide airport has reopened, but the US Department of State has urged residents to “reconsider travel to Saudi Arabia due to risk of drone and missile targeting”, while areas close to the Yemen border have been listed as such: “do not travel due to terrorism”.
A big plume of black smoke rises from the fuel storage space at King Khalid International Airport (Reuters)
Despite these attacks, Saudi adviser and boxing matchmaker Turki Alalshikh has continued to promote the battle, and he tweeted earlier this month, “[Canelo] fears nothing,” including: “My country is home to the two Holy Mosques, land of peace, safety, rich civilisation, deep history and kind-hearted people.” Canelo arrived in Riyadh on Monday and said in a video on Alalshikh’s X account: “I love to be here in Riyadh, and I’m excited to fight on Saturday.”
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However, one undercard bout might have been cancelled, per journalist Dan Rafael, who said Lindolfo Delgado would “probably not” face Arthur Biyarslanov; Delgado and his staff had reportedly not made journey plans, although Biyarslanov had already arrived in Riyadh. Rafael also said that broadcaster DAZN would possible current the occasion from a studio in London.
Odds
Canelo – 4/11
Mbilli – 9/4
Draw – 14/1
Christian Mbilli during his draw with Lester Martinez on the Canelo vs Crawford undercard (Getty)
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Fight card in full
Subject to change; ‘C’ denotes champion:
Christian Mbilli (C) vs Canelo Alvarez (vacant WBC super-middleweight title)
Jaime Munguia vs Nikita Zon (super-middleweight)
Rafael Espinoza (C) vs Ricardo Blandon (WBO featherweight title)
David Picasso vs Carl Jammes Martin (featherweight)
Reito Tsutsumi vs Raymundo Rojas Garcia (super-featherweight)
Reito Tsutsumi (rear) has emerged as an thrilling contender at super-featherweight (Getty)
Bek Nurmaganbet vs Marcos Vazquez Rodriguez (super-middleweight)
Brayan Leon vs Hector Aguirre (super-middleweight)
Emiliano Rojo vs Flavius Biea (middleweight)
Sultan Almohammed vs Erick Jahir Urvina Villegas (super-featherweight)
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