Canelo faces Mbilli in Riyadh for the WBC title
The Mexican star challenges the unbeaten super middleweight champion, and both men made weight on Friday.
Canelo Alvarez fights unbeaten Christian Mbilli today in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the World Boxing Council super middleweight title. Mbilli, a Cameroonian-born Frenchman, holds the belt. Alvarez, Mexico's biggest boxing draw, is the challenger.
Both fighters made weight on Friday. Alvarez came in at 167.7 pounds and Mbilli at 167.8, under the division limit of 168, the WBC reported.
Mbilli has won 29 fights, 24 by knockout, and drawn once. He has never lost. The WBC recognized him as champion in January, after he won the interim belt in June 2025 by knocking out Maciej Sulecki in the first round.
Alvarez returns from his loss to Terence Crawford, the third of his career. Crawford then retired, the super middleweight titles became vacant and the WBC crowned Mbilli. The fight was first set for Sept. 12 and moved to late October. Alvarez has said family matters were the reason.
At the Riyadh news conference, he played down the challenger's role. "In my mind I've always been the champion," he said. Mbilli said he is "ready to shock the world."
The main event ring walk is expected around 3 p.m. in central Mexico, and could come earlier depending on how long the undercard bouts run. In Mexico, TV Azteca's Canal 7, DAZN and Prime Video carry the card.
Jaime Munguía faces Nikita Zon on the same night, Rafael Espinoza fights Ricardo Blandón, and David Picasso meets Carl Martin for the WBC silver featherweight title.
A win would give Alvarez back a WBC belt, the organization with which he won his first title in 2011. A loss would be the fourth of his career.
