Canelo Alvarez will challenge Christian Mbilli for the WBC super middleweight title on October 31 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after Turki Alalshikh confirmed the rescheduled date on Tuesday.
The 12-round bout headlines the “Mexico vs The World” card on DAZN pay-per-view, according to The Ring. Tickets are now on sale, though no undercard fights have been announced. Confirmation that the card stays in Riyadh puts to rest talk of a move to Las Vegas.
The fight was first set for September 12 and was pushed back after a family matter delayed the start of Alvarez’s training camp. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show in July, Alvarez said he wasn’t ready to begin camp and needed to take care of his family first.
Two Long Layoffs, One Belt
Alvarez, 36, is 63-3-2 with 39 knockouts and hasn’t fought since losing a unanimous decision to Terence Crawford in September 2025. He had elbow surgery afterward and remains The Ring’s top-ranked super middleweight. He has won world titles in four divisions.
Mbilli, 31, is 29-0-1 with 24 knockouts and is rated No. 3 at 168 pounds by The Ring. He last fought on the Alvarez-Crawford undercard, where he drew with Lester Martinez, and was elevated to full WBC champion after Crawford retired.
There’s already some heat. At the May press conference in Cairo, Mbilli called it the perfect time to fight an aging Alvarez, and Alvarez shot back that even “if I was 50 years old, you still could not beat me.”
The card also arrives with travel warnings covering Saudi Arabia from the United States, Mexico and Canada, Yahoo Sports reported.
