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Saul “Canelo” Alvarez returns to the ring for the first time in more than a year on Saturday when he faces WBC super middleweight champion Christian Mbilli in Saudi Arabia. Alvarez will be fighting for the first time since dropping his undisputed super middleweight championship to Terence Crawford in September 2025.
Championship Stakes and Fighter Backgrounds
Mbilli was promoted from interim to full champion by the WBC in the wake of Crawford’s retirement after dominating Alvarez. Despite being promoted rather than winning the belt in the ring, Mbilli is a world-class fighter. He brings a relentless power-punching style to the ring and will look to overwhelm arguably the greatest fighter of the generation in Alvarez.
For Alvarez, even a rare fight where he is not the man entering the ring as champion feels like another day at the office. That’s a product of Alvarez being a staple of pound-for-pound lists and championship fights for nearly two decades. While some believe that Alvarez’s loss to Crawford was the product of time and ring miles catching up to him, Alvarez will look to use Saturday to show that he still has plenty left in the tank.
“I don’t believe in shortcuts. I’m going straight for the champion because I already have the experience,” Alvarez said at the final press conference. “I’ve been a champion for many years and I want to be a champion again.”
Fight Card and Betting Odds
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez -330 vs. Christian Mbilli (c) +250, WBC super middleweight title
Jaime Munguia -1800 vs. Nikita Zon +850, super middleweights
Rafael Espinoza (c) -3000 vs. Ricardo Blandon +1100, WBO featherweight title
David Picasso -700 vs. Carl Jammes Martin +450, featherweights
Reito Tsutsumi vs. Raymundo Rojas Garcia, junior lightweights
How and Where to Watch
The event takes place on Saturday, Oct. 31, at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. All times are Eastern, with start times beginning at 1 p.m. ET and main event ringwalks expected around 4:30 p.m. ET. Viewers can watch the action live via DAZN PPV for a price of $79.99.
