Chris Algieri on Saudi Arabia risks: ‘If you're not around to spend it, what's the point’

Chris Algieri has warned that the uncertainty surrounding Saturday's card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, headlined by Saul “Canelo” Alvarez's challenge for Christian Mbilli's WBC super middleweight title, could have a significant impact on the fighters' performances.

Event organizers SELA and Turki Alalshikh have faced criticism for pressing ahead with the show despite serious security concerns in the region. Riyadh has been subjected to Houthi missile and drone strikes in recent weeks, including an attack on the city's airport that reportedly killed 13 people and injured 308 others.

Numerous major sporting events in the region have been canceled or postponed, but Alalshikh and Alvarez have made it clear that Saturday's card will proceed as planned. That has left fighters further down the bill facing a difficult decision: remain at home and potentially miss out on life-changing money, or travel to Riyadh amid concerns for their safety.

Undercard already been affected

On Sunday, Lindolfo Delgado opted not to make the trip to Saudi Arabia for his scheduled fight with Arthur Biyarslanov for the vacant IBF junior welterweight title.

“Money is great, but if you're not around to spend it, what's the point?” Algieri told BoxingScene. “I love this sport. It's a risky sport to begin with, but it's risky in the ropes. When it's risky outside the ropes, I don't know if it's worth it to take the extra risk.

“I just talked to Paulie Malignaggi about this, and he brought up a great point. He said, ‘If you're anyone except for Christian Mbilli, because you're making life-changing money, no [you don’t go].’

“But in this Mbilli situation, the money is going to be huge because you're fighting Canelo Alvarez. But also, if you don't do this fight, you might not get Canelo again. So he doesn't really have the option to be like, we'll take it later.

“Canelo could easily do that. Canelo easily could have turned this card over and said, ‘No, I'm not doing that. We'll do it two weeks later in Vegas, or whatever.’ The other guys don't have that option. And since Canelo has decided this thing is going forward the way that it was supposed to, that's what's going to happen.

“Mbilli, he really can't back out. He's in a tough spot.”

Performances could falter due to uncertainty

The security situation has also disrupted fighters' preparations, with several arriving in Riyadh later than planned following journeys lasting more than 30 hours.

Algieri believes the reduced time available to adjust to the time difference, coupled with the psychological strain of the circumstances, could affect performances on Saturday night.

“When you're forcing something to happen, you tend to not think about the fighters as athletes. You still have to perform,” he said. “There's a structure and a code to fight week that especially fighters need to follow in order to be able to perform at their best.

“This is a situation like that where at least it will be an even playing field because it seems like everybody is going to be going through it. But there's also the psychological aspect of being worried about other things besides what's in the ring, making weight.

“I wouldn't be surprised if we see some guys missing weight. I wouldn't be surprised if we see some underwhelming performances from certain guys or blowouts or whatever. Anything can happen. It really could. But at the end of the day, again, I hope everyone is safe and we get good fights.”