Although the return of Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez had been widely reported, it was made official with a news conference hours before the “Glory In Giza” card took place Saturday in Cairo, Egypt.
Standing face-to-face, the highly regarded face of Mexican boxing and undefeated WBC Super Middleweight World Champion Christian “Solide” Mbilli launched their highly anticipated showdown scheduled for September 12, 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
News Conference Highlights
The event, “Mexico vs. The World,” will take place at the ANB Arena in Riyadh with a global broadcast on DAZN PPV. Boxing fans will need to adjust to seeing the 35-year-old Mexican icon walk into the ring as the challenger for the first time since 2022, currently ranked as the WBC’s number one contender.
Canelo Seeks Champion Status Once Again
Álvarez of Guadalajara (63-3-2, 39 KOs) looks to reestablish his dominance at the top of the 168-pound division. After becoming the first undisputed champion in super middleweight history in 2021, his reign ended last September when he suffered a loss to Terence Crawford.
Following some time off and undergoing elbow surgery, the four-division champion enters camp this summer under the eye of trainer Eddy Reynoso with something to prove despite achievements in boxing that few active fighters can match.
If today’s launch event in Egypt was any indication, Álvarez is approaching the fight with Mbilli with cool self-assurance, wasting no time dismissing his undefeated opponent’s odds of victory.
“He’s a good fighter, but in my mind it’s zero percent chance,” of winning, said Álvarez. Responding to the belief that timing and age favor the younger champion, Álvarez was defiant and dismissive. “He says it’s the perfect time because I’m old. I say to him, if I was 50 years old, you still cannot beat me.”
Mbilli Eager To Prove His Status
Christian Mbilli of Montreal (29-0-1, 24 KOs) represents a fundamentally different challenger. The biggest fight in the history of Quebec boxing is the culmination of a slow climb up the division’s rankings. On his road to #CaneloMbilli, the Montreal-based power puncher has faced no fewer than five top-10 contenders from major sanctioning bodies.
Mbilli won a brutal war against Ecuadorian puncher Carlos Góngora, stopped Australian brawler Rohan Murdock, outclassed Ukrainian technician Sergiy Derevyanchenko, and destroyed Polish veteran Maciej Sulecki with a terrifying first-round knockout to secure the interim title.
Mbilli took on his biggest challenge against the dangerous Lester Martinez of Guatemala in a thrilling fight on the Canelo vs Crawford undercard, exposing the French-Canadian to a huge audience on a high-visibility Netflix broadcast in front of nearly 40 million viewers.
Mbilli vs Martinez earned Fight of the Night honors and was later named Fight of the Year by the WBC after a hotly debated draw.
When Crawford retired after defeating Álvarez, and Hamzah Sheeraz declined to face Mbilli for the vacant title, the WBC elevated Mbilli to full world champion status, a position long targeted by the heavy-handed pressure fighter.
Mbilli is oozing with the confidence required to stand before a living legend. During their intense face-off in Cairo, the undefeated champion made it clear he is not stepping into the ring just to earn a moral victory for a big payday.
“You’re going to be surprised in September,” Mbilli told Álvarez. “I’m not (Edgar) Berlanga. I’m not (Jaime) Munguia.”
Mbilli believes his relentless, suffocating pressure style will reveal whetherÁlvarez can still handle elite-level pacing over 12 hard rounds. “Canelo Álvarez is the greatest test of my life, a life of effort, perseverance, and hard work that has prepared me for this moment,” said Mbilli. “On September 12, I promise to etch my name into the history of the sport by delivering a war like you’ve never seen.”
Early Look at Canelo vs Mbilli
Never doubt that when given the chance to choose an opponent, Canelo Álvarez and his team know what they’re doing. Álvarez prefers fighters who come right at him rather than elusive technicians with outstanding defensive skills. His losses have been to opponents in the second category: Floyd Mayweather, Dmitriy Bivol, and Crawford who can do it all.
Mbilli will become the 15th undefeated fighter Álvarez. has faced over a legendary professional career spanning more than 20 years and 24 world championship bouts. Of those previous 14 unbeaten challengers, Álvarez has successfully handed a first career defeat to 11 of them.
Eye of the Tiger Management (EOTTM) president Camille Estephan said the confirmation of this bout is a dream years in the making. “We’ve been trying for years to make the fight between Christian Mbilli and Canelo happen, and now you finally understand why September 12.”
Estephan said the event may be called Mexico vs the World, but Mbilli will be fighting for all of Quebec.
There was no confirmation of undercard fights on Saturday. Álvarez said he will have input on choosing the Mexican fighters to join him as the team facing opponents from around the world. Anticipated participants include Jaime Munguia, Rafael Espinoza, Emanuel Navarrete, and Southern California-based Mexican-Americans Raymond Muratalla and Ernesto “Tito” Mercado.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist with more than four dozen awards for both written and video coverage from the Boxing Writers Association of America, Society of Professional Journalists, and San Diego Press Club, where she is the past president. She is the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the BWAA. She is the Boxing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.