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Mexican boxer tells Turki Al-Sheikh he ‘fears nothing’ and will face M’billi in Riyadh on October 31 ‘no matter what’.

The world title fight featuring Saul “Canelo” ‌‌Alvarez and Christian M’billi will go ahead this month in Saudi Arabia despite attacks on the country’s airports, which have killed at least 14 people in Riyadh in two days, Saudi sports promoter Turki Al-Sheikh confirms.

Alvarez vs M’billi is scheduled for October 31 in the Saudi capital, which has repeatedly come under attack from Yemen’s Houthis, but Al-Sheikh sought to allay the doubts over the bout on Sunday.

One person was killed and 11 were injured on Sunday when a projectile struck King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, according to Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).

A Houthi strike on the same airport on Saturday killed 13 people and injured more than 300, making it the deadliest attack on Saudi Arabia in more than a decade.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for all four strikes on Saudi airports before Sunday’s attack, which has yet to be claimed by any group.

Alvarez, who has held multiple world titles across several weight classes, will face WBC super-middleweight champion M’billi in a highly anticipated bout.

“Canelo reached out ⁠⁠and told me he’ll still fight in Riyadh this October, no matter what happens,” Al-Sheikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, wrote in a social media post. “He [Alvarez] fears nothing.”

The ‌‌Mexican boxer, a former two-time undisputed super-middleweight champion, has not fought since he was ‌‌beaten ‌‌by American Terence Crawford in September 2025.

When Tyson Fury was asked whether his fight against Anthony Joshua had come too late for both boxers, the Gypsy King responded: “Is it too late?… It’s the icing on the cake of two great careers.”

Former heavyweight world champions Fury and ⁠⁠Joshua came face to face ⁠⁠in London on Wednesday to allay months-long fears and rumours surrounding their long-awaited fight, which has been confirmed for December 11 in Cardiff.

The British boxing stars are 38 and 36 years old, respectively, and have kept the boxing world waiting for years.

For many fans, why it took so long to agree on a fight is almost as big a question as who will win.

Neither boxer wanted to take the hit for delaying the biggest fight in British boxing history when they appeared in front of the media in London. Fury blamed Joshua, despite reports stating Joshua insisted the fight take place in the United Kingdom for the sake of home fans.

“You’ve been crying behind the scenes to get out of this fight,” Fury said. “I’ve checkmated you. You have to fight. I’ve said I’ll fight anywhere.”

But is the Gypsy King right? Can Fury vs Joshua live up to more than 10 years of hype?

Al Jazeera Sport breaks it down:

Ten years of near misses

Joshua and Fury are prizefighters who decide their destiny in the ring, but outside of it, their promoters negotiate contracts, choose venues and make calls on top billing.

The history goes back 10 years and is full of near misses, contractual problems and other fighters entering the fray.

It all started in 2020, when the two camps agreed to a two-fight deal. A year later, contracts were signed for an undisputed heavyweight showdown. However, Deontay Wilder, an American former world heavyweight champion, won an arbitration case that forced Fury into a trilogy fight in 2021.

In 2022, Joshua reportedly accepted a 60-40 purse split in Fury’s favour, but that deal collapsed too. During this period, unbeaten Ukrainian heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk defeated Joshua twice and proceeded to beat Fury twice as well.

All this while, Fury vs Joshua failed to materialise.

Eddie Hearn vs Dana White

Online streaming platform Netflix, which holds global rights to the fight, has billed it as a collaboration between Saudi sports powerbroker Turki Alshikh’s The Ring magazine and Dana White, the owner of mixed martial arts promotion UFC.

Neither Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, nor Fury’s, Frank Warren, was named when talks of the fight resurfaced earlier this year.

Alshikh and White cofounded a boxing promotion, Zuffa Boxing, which was launched earlier this year and became a point of contention in the Joshua-Fury fight. Hearn was of the view that Joshua’s contract barred White and Zuffa’s parent company from any promotional role.

“Dana White cannot be involved with this fight promotion,” Hearn said recently.

However, Fury saw it differently and blamed Hearn for costing “the biggest fight in boxing history” in an Instagram post.

White was not seen at the London news conference, where fans booed his name.

A battle of egos

In boxing, the name that comes first on the poster usually signals the A-side, or the bigger fighter.

Joshua claimed he got a call asking whether he minded Fury’s name going first, because Fury was “unwilling to sign unless he does”.

Fury boasted: “I’m number one.”

There was also the issue of the fight venue and, specifically, the host country.

Joshua insisted he ensured it would happen in the UK, whereas White had pushed for it to be held at Madison Square Garden in New York.

“I know we are going to inspire this generation, and I know for a fact we are going to inspire the next generation,” Joshua said.

The niceties didn’t last long between the opponents as Fury claimed he would knock Joshua out.

“I’m going to catch him and, when I do, it’s going to be curtains,” Fury said.

Joshua welcomed the outburst and said: “This is the energy that we want.”

In the end, money got the deal over the line.

Reports in UK media say the fighters will share a $200m purse and will bag more than “any British fighter has earned in a fight ever”.

In No. 12 USC football’s first three dominant wins of the season, its opponents combined to convert about one-third of third-down attempts and made one fourth-down conversion in three attempts.

On Saturday, in a rocky 42-35 win over Rutgers (0-3, 0-1 Big Ten) that saw the Trojans give up 292 passing yards, nearly get outgained overall and suffer multiple injuries in the secondary, the Scarlet Knights converted 6-of-11 third downs and made 3-of-4 fourth-down tries.

Against one of the worst teams in the Big Ten, USC’s high-powered offense and a clutch pick-6 from cornerback Prophet Brown were enough to survive the defense’s late-down struggles for a fourth consecutive win. However, with No. 20 Oregon (2-1) coming to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday with a star veteran quarterback in Dante Moore, that might not be possible.

“As a secondary, we’ve got to be a little bit tighter in those situations. We’ve got to make those competitive plays,” Trojans coach Lincoln Riley said Tuesday of third- and fourth-down situations. “We have a good defensive line. We have a group that can rush the passer. We’ve got to make guys hold onto that ball, make our pass rush work and make those plays when we get to the point of attack.”

USC hasn’t beaten Oregon in two matchups under Riley, including a 42-27 loss that all but eliminated the Trojans from College Football Playoff contention late last season, and has only won two of the teams’ last 10 meetings. A second loss this season for the Ducks or a loss this early in USC’s loaded conference schedule could make either team’s CFP path more difficult moving forward.

Though Brown echoed a common team sentiment that Saturday’s game is just like any other despite the potential CFP stakes, he said third- and fourth-down defense could be a deciding factor.

“Great defenses find a way to get off the field on third and fourth down,” Brown said. “Going into this game, it’s definitely going to be a big indicator on how it’s going to go, how we do on third and fourth down.”

Secondary, wide receiver groups dealing with injuries

During the Rutgers game, both cornerback Jontez Williams and safety Alex Graham appeared to be dealing with injuries, which Riley acknowledged Monday on Trojans Live. Riley said on the show that he was hoping to get both back “right away.”

Williams did not appear on USC’s initial availability report released Wednesday evening after telling reporters Tuesday that he was “ready to go.”

Graham, however, was listed as questionable on the report, which is updated daily from Wednesday through Saturday during a typical game week.

Standout freshman wide receiver Trent Mosley, who racked up 13 catches, 255 yards, four receiving touchdowns and a punt-return touchdown in his first three games with USC, was listed as doubtful. Mosley missed the Rutgers game after appearing to favor his right knee after a third-quarter touchdown the week prior against Louisiana.

On Tuesday, Riley deferred a question about Mosley’s return timetable to the availability report. Last week, Riley said he didn’t expect Mosley to be out “extremely long term,” but did not offer specifics.

Another of USC’s top receiving options, Corey Simms, was listed as out. Simms had at least two receptions in each of the Trojans’ first four games for nearly 200 yards and caught a touchdown against Rutgers.

Standout sophomore defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart was also listed as questionable after missing the first four games of the season with a foot injury. Stewart dressed for the game against Louisiana on Sept. 12, but Riley said the team “made the decision to pull him back a little bit” after seeing him warm up for that game.

“He’s definitely getting better and better each week,” Riley said Tuesday.

Special teams an emphasis in practice

Hours before their playoff hopes were dashed, the 2025 Trojans had the ball and were as in it as they could be.

More specifically, the then-No. 15 Trojans were tied with then-No. 7 Oregon 14-14 early in the second quarter and playing well on the road. Should they have won the game, USC would have had a reasonable argument to the CFP selection committee to make the 12-team field.

The Trojan offense stalled and was set to punt. Oregon’s Malik Benson took a line-drive punt 85 yards to the end zone to give the Ducks a lead. The Trojans compounded mistakes and fell convincingly afterward.

“It was a huge, huge play in the game,” Riley said after the game. “You definitely don’t want to give them something like that.”

Last week, the play that kept Rutgers in the game near the end of the first half also came from a punt formation, but with the roles reversed.

The Scarlet Knights ran a fake punt to convert a fourth-and-21 for a 44-yard gain that sparked a touchdown drive to close the gap to 3 points.

“The special teams play last year (against Oregon) really turned the game. The one the other day did too,” Riley said. “In these big games, when you’ve got two really good teams going at it, it always feels like there’s a couple of just really, really impactful special teams plays.”

With last year and last week in mind, how much emphasis did Riley and company place on special teams with a critical matchup with Oregon upcoming?

“A ton,” Riley said.