Canelo Alvarez set for boxing return against Christian Mbilli

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Canelo Alvarez is back.

After an almost yearlong hiatus since suffering a stunning defeat at the hands of Terence Crawford, the former undisputed super middleweight boxing king is ready to step onto the canvas once again, but this time, for the World Boxing Council super-middleweight belt.

Multiple reports on May 1, 2026, confirmed that Alvarez is set to face undefeated French superstar Christian Mbilli, with the fight targeted for Sept. 12, 2026, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The highly anticipated clash is expected to be hosted by Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority and co-founder of Zuffa Boxing, alongside UFC president Dana White.

While seen by some as an exciting and intriguing fight, many boxing fans and analysts cried foul over Alvarez’s decision, claiming that fighting Mbilli is another easy stepping stone to reclaim a boxing title after losing all four of his major super middleweight belts to Crawford last year.

David Benavidez, one of the top names in boxing, was the first to criticize Alvarez’s next career move.

“Who the f*** is Mbilli?” Benavidez said.

“Nobody wants to see that sh*t. You guys want to see that? I think he would have been better if he had fought Diego Pacheco.”

Despite the mixed reactions hours after the official fight was revealed, Mbilli’s rising trajectory in the sport cannot be denied, as he has taken care of business in all 29 of his professional fights without a single loss.

Mbilli is coming off a draw against Lester Martinez but earned huge praise after taking down Maciej Sulecki, Sergiy Derevyanchenko, and Mark Heffron.

After Crawford was stripped of his WBC super middleweight belt, Mbilli was promoted to full champion from interim champion last December.

On the other hand, Alvarez is still recovering from his loss to Crawford, where he was handed the most disappointing defeat of his career.

Before agreeing to accept the fight, Alvarez ensured that he was back in optimum condition after recovering from an elbow injury.

Can Alvarez redeem himself and avoid a second consecutive pro loss? Or will Mbilli prove the doubters wrong by pulling off the biggest win of his young career?