With the exception of the ongoing political tensions in the region, the biggest question facing Saturday's super middleweight title bout in Saudi Arabia is quite simple. How much does 36-year-old Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez have left after 68 fights and 21 years as a professional? Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KOs) will snap a 13-month layoff following elbow surgery when he challenges Christian Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs) inside Kingdom Arena in Riyadh (1 p.m.
ET, DAZN PPV) for the WBC title that Alvarez lost via unanimous decision in his last appearance against Terence Crawford in 2025. For the record, Alvarez is listed as high as a 3-to-1 betting favorite against the hard-charging Mbilli, a 31-year-old native of Cameroon who fights out of Montreal. But given Mbilli's conditioning and aggressive style, along with the concern as to how hungry Alvarez still is, especially after the humbling nature of seeing Crawford, two weeks shy of his 38th birthday, move up effectively three weight divisions to defeat him in their superfight.
On the pre-fight "Face Off" show produced last month by DAZN, Alvarez and Mbilli answered questions while seated across the table from one another. Alvarez was asked directly whether he has any doubt in the back of his mind that he has lost a step from the multiple peaks of his prime, which includes titles in four weight divisions, a three-year stretch as the sport's pound-for-pound king and a 2021 run to the undisputed championship at super middleweight. With a cold, emotionless look on his face, Alvarez quietly responded by saying, "No, I'm very good." In fact, the only time Alvarez showed emotion of any kind was when Mbilli, in a respectful but matter-of-fact tone, shared his belief that his opponent was old.
"Yes, [Alvarez] is old now, but he is still very dangerous," Mbilli said. "He has very good power, a good counter punch [but] I think it's the best timing for me to have this fight. I think maybe his power has gone down just a little bit.
I think five years ago, he was at a different level, but now he's a little bit down, I think." The response brought out a sinister smile from Alvarez, who could only laugh. "He's going to find out," Alvarez said. "Not even if I am 50 years old, he can't beat me.
It's just different levels. He's going to find out that this level is way different. If we're inspecting it with a microscope, Alvarez's decline in recent years has been very gradual.
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