BoxRec

Canelo Alvarez and Christian Mbilli will fight on September 12 in Riyadh for the WBC super middleweight championship, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh announced.

The press conference will take place in Cairo, Egypt on May 23 at 2 PM local time (12 PM UK, 7 AM ET) live on DAZN.

Canelo Alvarez and Christian Mbilli will fight on September 12 in Riyadh for the WBC super middleweight championship, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh announced.

The press conference will take place in Cairo, Egypt on May 23 at 2 PM local time (12 PM UK, 7 AM ET) live on DAZN.

Is this the Mexico v the Rest of the World card we were promised?

Taansend wrote: ↑17 May 2026, 00:12 Is this the Mexico v the Rest of the World card we were promised?

Should be Yh.

Maybe we’ll get Sheeraz vs Munguia

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑17 May 2026, 04:44

Taansend wrote: ↑17 May 2026, 00:12 Is this the Mexico v the Rest of the World card we were promised?

Should be Yh.

Maybe we’ll get Sheeraz vs Munguia

Great fight. Let's hope Sheeraz wins next week.

Taansend wrote: ↑17 May 2026, 10:45

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑17 May 2026, 04:44

Taansend wrote: ↑17 May 2026, 00:12 Is this the Mexico v the Rest of the World card we were promised?

Should be Yh.

Maybe we’ll get Sheeraz vs Munguia

Great fight. Let's hope Sheeraz wins next week.

In my head, it would be a pretty significant upset if Sheeraz didn't win. Stranger things have happened, but I just don't see Begic having the ability to pull it off, beyond a one-in-a-million punch from out of nowhere.

Canelo Alvarez, in his 22nd year as a pro boxer, says 'Christian Mbilli is a great fighter'

Saul "Canelo" Alvarez is set to return on September 12, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and face Christian Mbilli, 29-0-1 (24 KOs), in a battle for the WBC super middleweight title. Come fight night, the Mexican will have been inactive for a day shy of one year, after losing all 168-pound belts to Terence Crawford on September 13, 2025.

Alvarez, 63-3-2 (39 KOs), has taken the time out of the ring to recharge his batteries, solve the odd niggling injury, and refocus. He had wanted a rematch with Crawford, who beat him via deserved unanimous decision, but "Bud" has since retired. For now, then, Mbilli will have to do.

"After so many years in this sport, my motivation is still the same: to challenge myself, represent Mexico, and continue building my legacy," said Alvarez, who will be 36 in July and this bout will mark his 22nd year as a professional boxer.

"Mbilli is undefeated, and a great fighter, and I must respect that. But my focus is always on my preparation, performance, and giving the fans another great night of boxing.

"On September 12 in Riyadh, we begin a new chapter with the same discipline, ambition, and vision that has carried me throughout my career."

Canelo remains a huge draw in the sport despite his advancing years. Though the loss to Crawford was fair, the veteran was competitive throughout. Prior to that defeat he was the holder of all four belts in the super middleweight class after claiming titles at 154 and 160 previously.

Mbilli, at least comparatively speaking, is an unknown quantity. But the Frenchman, who was born in Cameroon, is a former WBC interim beltholder who was elevated to champion-status when Crawford retired. The 31-year-old was last seen in a thrilling 10-round draw with Lester Martinez on the Crawford-Canelo undercard in Las Vegas.

"My last fight was fight of the year," Mbilli said of his titanic slugfest with Martinez. "In September, against Canelo Alvarez, it will be the fight of the decade. And when it is over, the world will witness a historic victory for me."

Canelo Alvarez, in his 22nd year as a pro boxer, says 'Christian Mbilli is a great fighter'

Saul "Canelo" Alvarez is set to return on September 12, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and face Christian Mbilli, 29-0-1 (24 KOs), in a battle for the WBC super middleweight title. Come fight night, the Mexican will have been inactive for a day shy of one year, after losing all 168-pound belts to Terence Crawford on September 13, 2025.

Alvarez, 63-3-2 (39 KOs), has taken the time out of the ring to recharge his batteries, solve the odd niggling injury, and refocus. He had wanted a rematch with Crawford, who beat him via deserved unanimous decision, but "Bud" has since retired. For now, then, Mbilli will have to do.

"After so many years in this sport, my motivation is still the same: to challenge myself, represent Mexico, and continue building my legacy," said Alvarez, who will be 36 in July and this bout will mark his 22nd year as a professional boxer.

"Mbilli is undefeated, and a great fighter, and I must respect that. But my focus is always on my preparation, performance, and giving the fans another great night of boxing.

"On September 12 in Riyadh, we begin a new chapter with the same discipline, ambition, and vision that has carried me throughout my career."

Canelo remains a huge draw in the sport despite his advancing years. Though the loss to Crawford was fair, the veteran was competitive throughout. Prior to that defeat he was the holder of all four belts in the super middleweight class after claiming titles at 154 and 160 previously.

Mbilli, at least comparatively speaking, is an unknown quantity. But the Frenchman, who was born in Cameroon, is a former WBC interim beltholder who was elevated to champion-status when Crawford retired. The 31-year-old was last seen in a thrilling 10-round draw with Lester Martinez on the Crawford-Canelo undercard in Las Vegas.

"My last fight was fight of the year," Mbilli said of his titanic slugfest with Martinez. "In September, against Canelo Alvarez, it will be the fight of the decade. And when it is over, the world will witness a historic victory for me."

Canelo Alvarez vs Christian Mbilli official for September 12

Canelo returns to action this fall in a super middleweight title fight.

Canelo Alvarez is officially scheduled for a WBC super middleweight title fight against Chrisitian Mbilli, set for September 12 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Canelo will be making his first appearance in the ring since a unanimous decision loss to Terence Crawford one year ago and says he looks to get back to his winning ways.

“Mbilli is undefeated, and a great fighter, and I respect that. But my focus is always on my preparation, performance, and giving the fans another great night of boxing. On September 12 in Riyadh, we begin a new chapter with the same discipline, ambition, and vision that has carried me throughout my career.”

Mbilli is most recently coming off a split draw with Lester Martinez last September but says this is an opportunity for him to score a historic victory over the Mexican legend, and anticipates doing exactly that when the pair square off this fall.

The style matchup between the fighters is one that’s expected to be good for Canelo as he won’t have to chase down and corner Mbilli much, who is anticipated t show up with a come-forward style that generally suits Canelo’s counterpunching ability. Canelo has, however, shown to be a diminished version of himself over the past few years, so if he doesn’t show up in good form it could be another tough night for him.

Canelo Alvarez vs Christian Mbilli official for September 12

Canelo returns to action this fall in a super middleweight title fight.

Canelo Alvarez is officially scheduled for a WBC super middleweight title fight against Chrisitian Mbilli, set for September 12 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Canelo will be making his first appearance in the ring since a unanimous decision loss to Terence Crawford one year ago and says he looks to get back to his winning ways.

“Mbilli is undefeated, and a great fighter, and I respect that. But my focus is always on my preparation, performance, and giving the fans another great night of boxing. On September 12 in Riyadh, we begin a new chapter with the same discipline, ambition, and vision that has carried me throughout my career.”

Mbilli is most recently coming off a split draw with Lester Martinez last September but says this is an opportunity for him to score a historic victory over the Mexican legend, and anticipates doing exactly that when the pair square off this fall.

The style matchup between the fighters is one that’s expected to be good for Canelo as he won’t have to chase down and corner Mbilli much, who is anticipated t show up with a come-forward style that generally suits Canelo’s counterpunching ability. Canelo has, however, shown to be a diminished version of himself over the past few years, so if he doesn’t show up in good form it could be another tough night for him.

Mbilli Motivated To Make Everyone Remember Name By Beating Canelo

When Christian Mbilli first saw Canelo Alvarez fight in 2015, he earned a pivotal unanimous-decision victory over Miguel Cotto that helped propel him to become one of boxing's biggest stars.

Mbilli has a chance 10 years later to elevate his name with a win over Alvarez. Mbilli will defend his WBC super middleweight title for the first time when he faces Alvarez in the main event of a Ring card September 12 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on DAZN PPV and as part of the DAZN Ultimate plan.

“I was a big fan of Canelo Alvarez,” Mbilli said on the latest episode of “Inside The Ring,” which premiered Monday on DAZN. “I’m still a big fan of Canelo Alvarez, and like a fan, I want to beat him. If I beat Canelo Alvarez, I become the next superstar. It is like a dream come true. In September, I’m going to beat Canelo Alvarez, and I’m going to make sure that everybody in boxing remembers my name.”

Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs) and Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KOs) will face off for the first time during a press conference Saturday in Egypt.
The Quebec-based Mbilli, a relentless pressure fighter from Yaounde, Cameroon, was elevated from interim titlist to world champion after Terence Crawford was stripped of his WBC belt early in December, following his unanimous points victory over Alvarez. He last fought to a split draw in a 10-round fight against Lester Martinez on the undercard of Crawford-Alvarez in September.

Mbilli is The Ring’s No. 3 contender super middleweight for a vacant championship. His last victory came on June 27, when he stopped former middleweight title challenger Maciej Sulecki in the first round.

Mbilli, 31, promised that a better version of himself compared to the one who faced Martinez (20-0-1, 16 KOs) will show up against Alvarez. Mbilli said he was in training camp for six months only for fights with Diego Pacheco and Kevin Lele Sadjo to fall through before he eventually fought Sulecki.

He then had to go right into preparing for Martinez, whom he fought just over two months later. As a result, Mbilli felt like he was only 60 percent of himself and was only mentally present in the ring when he faced Martinez.

“This fight will be different because I have a lot of rest,” Mbilli said. “My last fight was [eight] months ago, and now I’m ready for a big training camp and to shock the world.”

Alvarez, of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, will fight for the first time since his defeat to Crawford. He underwent elbow surgery in October, which delayed his return to the ring.

Alvarez, 35, is a four-division champion. The Ring’s No. 1-ranked super middleweight last won a year ago, when he beat reluctant Cuban William Scull by unanimous decision to become a two-time undisputed 168-pound champion.

Mbilli wasn’t surprised that Alvarez agreed to face him. Ultimately, he believes the weight of the WBC belt motivated Alvarez, setting the stage for a potential all-action clash.

“Canelo needs a title,” Mbilli said. “He can’t fight without a title, and I am the only one who has the most beautiful title right now, the WBC. Many people want to see if he can take the pressure, and maybe he wants to prove he can take the pressure. We’re going to see.”

Mbilli Motivated To Make Everyone Remember Name By Beating Canelo

When Christian Mbilli first saw Canelo Alvarez fight in 2015, he earned a pivotal unanimous-decision victory over Miguel Cotto that helped propel him to become one of boxing's biggest stars.

Mbilli has a chance 10 years later to elevate his name with a win over Alvarez. Mbilli will defend his WBC super middleweight title for the first time when he faces Alvarez in the main event of a Ring card September 12 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on DAZN PPV and as part of the DAZN Ultimate plan.

“I was a big fan of Canelo Alvarez,” Mbilli said on the latest episode of “Inside The Ring,” which premiered Monday on DAZN. “I’m still a big fan of Canelo Alvarez, and like a fan, I want to beat him. If I beat Canelo Alvarez, I become the next superstar. It is like a dream come true. In September, I’m going to beat Canelo Alvarez, and I’m going to make sure that everybody in boxing remembers my name.”

Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs) and Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KOs) will face off for the first time during a press conference Saturday in Egypt.
The Quebec-based Mbilli, a relentless pressure fighter from Yaounde, Cameroon, was elevated from interim titlist to world champion after Terence Crawford was stripped of his WBC belt early in December, following his unanimous points victory over Alvarez. He last fought to a split draw in a 10-round fight against Lester Martinez on the undercard of Crawford-Alvarez in September.

Mbilli is The Ring’s No. 3 contender super middleweight for a vacant championship. His last victory came on June 27, when he stopped former middleweight title challenger Maciej Sulecki in the first round.

Mbilli, 31, promised that a better version of himself compared to the one who faced Martinez (20-0-1, 16 KOs) will show up against Alvarez. Mbilli said he was in training camp for six months only for fights with Diego Pacheco and Kevin Lele Sadjo to fall through before he eventually fought Sulecki.

He then had to go right into preparing for Martinez, whom he fought just over two months later. As a result, Mbilli felt like he was only 60 percent of himself and was only mentally present in the ring when he faced Martinez.

“This fight will be different because I have a lot of rest,” Mbilli said. “My last fight was [eight] months ago, and now I’m ready for a big training camp and to shock the world.”

Alvarez, of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, will fight for the first time since his defeat to Crawford. He underwent elbow surgery in October, which delayed his return to the ring.

Alvarez, 35, is a four-division champion. The Ring’s No. 1-ranked super middleweight last won a year ago, when he beat reluctant Cuban William Scull by unanimous decision to become a two-time undisputed 168-pound champion.

Mbilli wasn’t surprised that Alvarez agreed to face him. Ultimately, he believes the weight of the WBC belt motivated Alvarez, setting the stage for a potential all-action clash.

“Canelo needs a title,” Mbilli said. “He can’t fight without a title, and I am the only one who has the most beautiful title right now, the WBC. Many people want to see if he can take the pressure, and maybe he wants to prove he can take the pressure. We’re going to see.”

Hope Canello gets battered

Probably the most overrated boxer of our era. Each time he steps in with a world level opponent, he needs a gift decision

He lost vs Trout, lost vs Lara, lost vs GGG three times, arguably lost vs Jacobs, had the judges try DESPERATELY to get him a win vs Bivol, Crawford and Mayweather,

He basically starts every fight with a three round advantage on the cards.

tigermoth87 wrote: ↑19 May 2026, 05:05 Hope Canello gets battered

Probably the most overrated boxer of our era. Each time he steps in with a world level opponent, he needs a gift decision

He lost vs Trout, lost vs Lara, lost vs GGG three times, arguably lost vs Jacobs, had the judges try DESPERATELY to get him a win vs Bivol, Crawford and Mayweather,

He basically starts every fight with a three round advantage on the cards.

The second GGG was was close, i did have it for GGG though. There was no doubt about the 3rd fight, that was clean for Canelo.

I actually had the 2nd fight more clean for GGG than the first.

tigermoth87 wrote: ↑19 May 2026, 05:05 Hope Canello gets battered

Probably the most overrated boxer of our era. Each time he steps in with a world level opponent, he needs a gift decision

He lost vs Trout, lost vs Lara, lost vs GGG three times, arguably lost vs Jacobs, had the judges try DESPERATELY to get him a win vs Bivol, Crawford and Mayweather,

He basically starts every fight with a three round advantage on the cards.

He did not lost against Trout, Jacobs and GGG3. You probably watched another fights LOL. He lost against mayweather, Bivol, Crawford and first GGG fight. He won close against Lara and GGG2, but i understand if some fans saw it other way. Hate for Canelo on boxrec forum is so strong LOL

And speaking of Canelo being overrated. Imagine how good his resume is when Mbilli is considered cherry pick He is long past prime, stepped up in weights, coming from a loss and facing power punching, durable come forward beast at his very prime, fight he could easily took another L.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑19 May 2026, 05:18

tigermoth87 wrote: ↑19 May 2026, 05:05 Hope Canello gets battered

Probably the most overrated boxer of our era. Each time he steps in with a world level opponent, he needs a gift decision

He lost vs Trout, lost vs Lara, lost vs GGG three times, arguably lost vs Jacobs, had the judges try DESPERATELY to get him a win vs Bivol, Crawford and Mayweather,

He basically starts every fight with a three round advantage on the cards.

The second GGG was was close, i did have it for GGG though. There was no doubt about the 3rd fight, that was clean for Canelo.

I actually had the 2nd fight more clean for GGG than the first.

Can't argue with the perception - reality? - that Alvarez starts every round having already won the round unless his opponent does something to overcome that advantage. If he wins it, he gets the round; if it's close, he gets the round; if he's just edged out, he gets the round; and if he loses it, he sometimes gets the round.

I thought GGG clearly won the first two fights (9-3 in the first and 8-4 in the second), but Alvarez took the third (7-5). I believe Alvarez narrowly won (7-5) the bout with Lara, who did more running than actual fighting, while the "official" scores were a joke in the fight against Bivol, who put on a boxing clinic and should have won at worst 10-2.

Cent0089 wrote: ↑01 May 2026, 05:29 Osleys Iglesias, Diego Pacheco, Hamzah Sheeraz, Jacob Bank, Jermall Charlo, Lester Martinez. Will they fight each other meanwhile or will they just sit and wait as usual?

Could be nice if some of these guys could fight each other. I do not think Jacob Bank is a guy who wants to sit and wait. He is active and I hope that he soon will take another step up the ladder.

tigermoth87 wrote: ↑19 May 2026, 05:05 Hope Canello gets battered

Probably the most overrated boxer of our era. Each time he steps in with a world level opponent, he needs a gift decision

He lost vs Trout, lost vs Lara, lost vs GGG three times, arguably lost vs Jacobs, had the judges try DESPERATELY to get him a win vs Bivol, Crawford and Mayweather,

He basically starts every fight with a three round advantage on the cards.

What do you consider a “world level opponent”?

Decent fight given the situation.

It will give us a solid idea of where Canelo is at after the loss and surgery.

I think Canelo takes it and gives the fans a late TKO.

tigermoth87 wrote: ↑19 May 2026, 05:05 Hope Canello gets battered

Probably the most overrated boxer of our era. Each time he steps in with a world level opponent, he needs a gift decision

He lost vs Trout, lost vs Lara, lost vs GGG three times, arguably lost vs Jacobs, had the judges try DESPERATELY to get him a win vs Bivol, Crawford and Mayweather,

He basically starts every fight with a three round advantage on the cards.

Lol fornicating retard

It's one thing to dislike a fighter, but when you start stating obvious bullsh*t in your dislike of a fighter you've just made yourself look like a fool instead of the fighter you're trying to belittle.

I got Canelo by decision in this fight. We've seen Canelo outboxed a few times in his career. We've never seen him outfought yet. I don't think an aggressive fighter is going to be able to take him just yet.

tigermoth87 wrote: ↑19 May 2026, 05:05 Hope Canello gets battered

Probably the most overrated boxer of our era. Each time he steps in with a world level opponent, he needs a gift decision

He lost vs Trout, lost vs Lara, lost vs GGG three times, arguably lost vs Jacobs, had the judges try DESPERATELY to get him a win vs Bivol, Crawford and Mayweather,

He basically starts every fight with a three round advantage on the cards.

I had him losing to GGG twice but no way in hell did he lose the third.

tigermoth87 wrote: ↑19 May 2026, 05:05 Hope Canello gets battered

Probably the most overrated boxer of our era. Each time he steps in with a world level opponent, he needs a gift decision

He lost vs Trout, lost vs Lara, lost vs GGG three times, arguably lost vs Jacobs, had the judges try DESPERATELY to get him a win vs Bivol, Crawford and Mayweather,

He basically starts every fight with a three round advantage on the cards.

Info. from ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, using data scraped from multiple websites (i.e. BoxRec, Wikipedia etc.):

When Canelo fights Christian Mbilli in September, the Mexican will be 36 years of age, competing in his 69th fight (29th world title bout) over a 21-year career, and he will also be facing his 25th world champion opponent.

Mbilli, the Frenchman, is the current WBC super middleweight world champion. He is undefeated and ranked third at 168lbs by both The RING and ESPN.

Seven of Canelo’s opponents’ were once top-ten pound-for-pounders and also current (or regarded as dead-cert future) Hall-of-Famers.

Can you name any currently-active fighters with a better resume than Canelo’s?