reclaim

In the Middle East, Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez will return to the ring after a 13-month hiatus in search of more titles.

In Riyadh, many time zones from his native Mexico and second home base in Las Vegas, Álvarez will try to take the World Boxing Council super-middleweight title from Christian Mbilli, an undefeated champion who has never faced an opponent of Álvarez’s caliber.

The Guadalajara-born boxer arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday, where he was greeted by Faisal Bafarat, CEO of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA). The event has faced unusual complications, with one of the fights on the card canceled because of security concerns raised by one of the boxers and criticism from figures in the boxing world who question the athletes’ safety — especially after several sporting events, including Formula One, WTA and WWE events have been canceled or relocated because of the war in the Middle East.

The fight between Canelo (63-3-2, 39 KOs) and Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs) headlines the “Mexico vs. The World” event at The Venue as part of the seventh edition of Riyadh Season. The bout will be broadcast on pay-per-view via DAZN (10 a.m. Pacific Time, main event around 1:10 p.m.).

Terence Crawford throws a left punch at Canelo Álvarez at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sept. 13, 2025.

(Sarah Stier / Getty Images for Netflix)

After a period of inactivity that included elbow surgery, Álvarez — beyond his opponents — faces his greatest enemy in Father Time, as demonstrated by his September 2025 loss to Terence Crawford, which cost him his four super-middleweight titles. Crawford retired after that victory — the best of his career — and Mbilli went from interim champion to full WBC champion.

After that painful defeat, Álvarez acknowledged that his mind wasn’t on the fight that night.

“When you lose, you always review your mistakes, and at this level there’s very little difference between winning and losing,” said Álvarez, whose training concluded in Spain, where he shared a gym with heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. “I did a good job preparing for that fight, but during fight week, my mind wasn’t in it.”

For this bout, Álvarez chose to finish his preparation in Spain to avoid the adjustment issues he said he experienced during last year’s fight against William Scull, also in Riyadh.

Álvarez hasn’t knocked out an opponent since defeating Caleb Plant by technical knockout in 2021, and the last opponent he clearly knocked out was Sergey Kovalev in 2019. Although he has defeated several high-caliber opponents who were physically larger than him, he has been unable to secure a knockout, which has fueled speculation that his power and stamina have declined over the years. If he loses, it would mark the first consecutive losses of his career, and criticism regarding his decline would intensify. However, Álvarez has stated that he feels no obligation to win.

“I never think about the pressure. I feel like I work even better when I have it,” Álvarez said. “I don’t think about who says good or bad things.”

Álvarez did not fight in either May or September in Las Vegas, on the dates reserved for boxing’s biggest stars. In May, David Benavidez took the slot after knocking out Gilberto Ramírez, and then Ryan García took the September slot to defeat Conor Benn. For many, García is emerging as the man who will inherit Canelo’s slots in Las Vegas as the “new face of boxing.”

“I love boxing and I’m just focused on that. There’s a lot of young talent always coming out of Mexico, so we’ll see who’s next,” said Álvarez, who made his professional boxing debut 21 years ago.

“He’s the most successful Mexican boxer in the sport,” said Eddy Reynoso, the Jalisco native’s manager and trainer who asked for a round of applause for his fighter on Thursday at the news conference in Riyadh. Álvarez thanked him with a hug.

“We’re going to prove that Canelo is still up for the big challenges,” said Reynoso.

Canelo Álvarez waits in the corner during his fight against Terence Crawford in Las Vegas on Sept. 13, 2025.

(David Becker / Associated Press)

But for many, time has Canelo on the ropes. Both he and his team have acknowledged that his body has taken a toll from fighting since he was 13.

“Now I’m the challenger, but in my mind I’ve always been the champion since I was a kid,” Álvarez said.

Mbilli, 31, a French-Cameroonian with an aggressive style and a high volume of punches, won the interim title by knocking out Maciej Sulecki in the first round in June 2025. In his next fight—on the same card as Canelo vs. Crawford and in front of a packed Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas — he fought to a hard-fought split-decision draw against Guatemalan Lester Martínez. This will be his first title defense as the undisputed champion.

“I think I have the right style to beat Canelo. I have a lot of power, a lot of speed, and a lot of skills to win this fight,” said Mbilli, who claimed to have spotted some mistakes by the Mexican during his fight against Crawford.

“I don’t think age will be a factor; it will be the perfect time for me,” said Mbilli, who is five years younger than Álvarez.

Álvarez is the favorite with the bookmakers thanks to Mbilli’s limited experience against elite opponents. Mbilli has a victory over Sergiy Derevyanchenko in 2024, a win over Sulecki and, in his title defense against Martínez last year, he had a lackluster performance in which he landed punches but also took a lot of hits.

Boxing amid international conflict

This image from CCTV video released by Saudi Arabia’s Media Ministry shows passengers taking cover as flames and smoke fill part of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 10.

(Saudi Media Ministry via Associated Press)

Álvarez’s fight card is proceeding as planned despite the wave of missile and drone attacks attributed to Houthi rebels. The attacks have left at least 20 dead and 370 wounded, and have forced the closure of King Khalid International Airport for two weeks. Last week, the U.S. State Department ordered the evacuation of non-essential government personnel and their families from the country because of the instability.

Accompanying Álvarez were Mexicans Carlos Emiliano, Manuel Salcedo, Rafael Espinoza and Jaime Munguía, as well as Saudi fighter Sultan Al-Muhammad — all of whom were on the fight card. Mbilli had arrived days earlier.

But one person who did not arrive was Lindolfo Delgado, a Mexican boxer who was left off the Oct. 31 card, where he was scheduled to fight Arthur Biyarslanov for the vacant International Boxing Federation super-lightweight title. According to his trainer, Robert García, his fighter did not make the trip due to logistical issues, as he lacked information about flights and there were daily alerts about possible missile attacks. It has not yet been announced whether Biyarslanov will fight a replacement boxer on the card.

“Why would we risk going there without any security guarantees? Flying to another country [Bahrain] and driving five to six hours to get to another location? That’s asking for trouble,” García said in an interview with Boxing Scene.

On Wednesday in Los Angeles, promoter Oscar De La Hoya joined the criticism of the decision to hold the bout in Saudi Arabia. He argued that promoter Turki Alalshikh and Álvarez should have been more responsible and moved the fight to another venue.

Because of the conflict in the Middle East, numerous top-tier events have been moved to other cities or were postponed. The list ranges from the Dakar Rally and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to the WTA Finals, the FIFA eSports Finals, and WWE’s Crown Jewel.

“It’s not very responsible when you have a U.S. consul saying it’s dangerous, that it’s a Category 3,” De La Hoya said to independent reporter Albert Pérez. “How can you put the boxers’ lives at risk?… It’s interesting — in the times we live in, when ambition feeds you and feeds your ego, that’s what happens.”

The event is sanctioned by the WBC, and Mauricio Sulaimán, the organization’s president, is in Riyadh.

“I’m coming to fight, to win a world championship,” Álvarez said on Thursday. “Whatever I have to do, wherever I have to go… I’ll do whatever it takes to win it.”

The immense pride which Kartal felt about becoming the British number one came shining through, describing it as being “up there” in her career achievements.

While she will only initially hold the status for a week, Kartal’s impressive comeback and Boulter’s decent run creates a fascinating subplot for the leading British women in the final throes of the season – and the start of 2027.

Boulter will have the chance to further improve her ranking when she plays in Tokyo and Hong Kong in the coming weeks, with Kartal’s plans for the rest of the season still uncertain as she sensibly manages her workload.

And don’t forget about Emma Raducanu. It seems increasingly unlikely she will play again this season because of the shin injury which ruled her out of Wimbledon, but is clearly too good a player not to be pushing back into the top 50 when she does return.

When all three are back competing on the WTA Tour at the same time, it promises to be an interesting tussle between them in the rankings.

Boulter and Raducanu both insisted they were not transfixed by the British number one spot when they exchanged positions in 2025, instead preferring to focus on their own career paths and the bigger picture of the world rankings.

But there is no doubt that Boulter, in particular, could see the opportunity to cement her place as the nation’s best player as an extra incentive to continue finishing 2026 strongly.