Canelo Alvarez sets new Halloween date verus Christian Mbilli
Leigh Dawney PhotographyCanelo Alvarez has set his return bout for Halloween in Saudi Arabia, when the four-division and former unified super-middleweight champion will seek to reclaim a 168lbs strap from new champion Christian Mbilli.
Explaining that family needs took him away from training camp, Mexico’s Alvarez, 63-3-2 (39 KOs), told Ariel Helwani he needed to postpone the planned September 12 date that ultimately fell on the WBC welterweight title defense by new champion Ryan Garcia versus England’s Conor Benn in Las Vegas.
“All good and ready to train,” Alvarez told Helwani.
Alvarez said while he prefers fighting in the U.S. and Mexico, he’s content with the placement of this bout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and vows to return to his normal stomping grounds.
“It is what it is,” said Alvarez in a nod to the financial support of Saudi Arabia and its boxing financier Turki Alalshikh.
Alvarez said he hasn’t watched a replay of his last bout there, a dull victory over Germany’s William Scull that forced his fight to occur in the early morning hours.
He said he was similarly disappointed in his September loss to five-division champion Terence Crawford, who has since retired.
“My mind wasn’t right. My mind wasn’t there,” Alvarez said of the defeat, crediting Crawford as a good fighter.
He said he’d be open to a Crawford rematch.
“[Crawford’s retirement] surprised me,” Alvarez said. “I hope so [for the rematch]. I think he’ll come [to fight] again.”
Alvarez said he is planning “three or more fights” and will turn his attention to his own businesses, but not boxing promotion.
He did, however, repeat that boxing is the top combat sport over MMA, and urged promoters to work together for the betterment of the sport.
The October 31 card is also expected to include an IBF 140lbs title fight between Lindolfo Delgado and Arthur Biyarslanov amid reports a super-middleweight bout between WBA top-ranked contenders Jose Armando Resendiz and Bektemir Melikuziev could also land on the card.
Lance Pugmire has been a full-time boxing writer for nearly 20 years, serving now as BoxingScene’s U.S. Senior Writer and assistant producer for ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today.” Pugmire capped a near 20-year career at the Los Angeles Times (sports investigations, NHL/MLB beat work, law enforcement/courts and boxing/UFC) to join The Athletic, and then USA Today. Pugmire’s stint at The Times started with the first Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight and the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jnr then-record pay-per-view, leading through a slew of ringside assignments at major bouts, including Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Canelo and the Canelo-Golovkin trilogy. Lance’s appreciation for boxing is rooted in his admiration and appreciation for the fighters, gladiators who have proven to be the most forthcoming and candid of all the athletes he has interviewed over a career dating to 1990. Lance was honored to be named the 2022 winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence and he’s collected many BWAA writing awards in categories ranging from breaking news to deep-dive long features.
