“Canelo Álvarez will return to the ring on twelfth September in Riyadh to face WBC super-middleweight champion Christian Mbilli,” Turki Alalshikh said.
The bout comes one 12 months after Canelo’s loss to Terence Crawford in Las Vegas, a Netflix event that reportedly drew greater than 41 million viewers. Before that defeat, Canelo spent years at the highest of the division, recording nine successful super middleweight title defenses during his undisputed championship run.
Mbilli enters because the unbeaten WBC champion after first winning the interim belt against Maciej Sulecki before later being elevated to full champion in January. The French-Cameroonian contender has steadily climbed through the rankings and now steps right into a title fight against one among boxing’s biggest names.
“After so a few years on this sport, my motivation continues to be the identical: to challenge myself, represent Mexico, and proceed constructing my legacy,” Canelo said. “Mbilli is undefeated, and an awesome fighter, and I respect that.”
Canelo also made clear that his preparation stays unchanged despite the stage and opponent.
“My focus is at all times on my preparation, performance, and giving the fans one other great night of boxing,” Canelo said. “On September 12 in Riyadh, we start a brand new chapter with the identical discipline, ambition, and vision that has carried me throughout my profession.”
Mbilli leaned into the size of the chance and the eye surrounding the matchup.
“My last fight was the fight of the 12 months,” Mbilli said. “In September, against Canelo Alvarez, it’ll be the fight of the last decade.”
“And when the fight is over, the world will witness a historic victory for me,” he added.
A press conference is scheduled for May 23 in Cairo, where each fighters are expected to fulfill face-to-face publicly for the primary time for the reason that fight became official.
The announcement ends weeks of speculation about Canelo’s next opponent and provides Mbilli the highest-profile fight of his profession against one among the most important names in the game.
