Christian Mbilli Expected for Canelo Alvarez on September 12 in Saudi Arabia
Christian Mbilli is expected to be Saul Canelo Alvarez’s opponent when Canelo returns to the ring on September 12 in Saudi Arabia. Eddy Reynoso said he expects Mbilli to get the call, turning an unannounced world title fight into a likely meeting with the full WBC champion.
The matchup would put the belt back in play for Canelo after he lost all four super-middleweight world titles to Terence Crawford in September of last year. It also gives Mbilli the clearest path yet into the division’s biggest stage, after months of being viewed as the leading candidate for the bout.
Reynoso’s Saudi Arabia read
Reynoso, Canelo’s longtime trainer and manager, told Lance Pugmire that he is expecting Mbilli to be Canelo’s September opponent in Saudi Arabia. That is the strongest public indication so far about who will stand across from Canelo on September 12, even though the fight has not been officially announced with a name attached.
The only official announcement so far has described the return as a world title fight. That leaves the opponent slot open on paper, but the lineup is narrowing fast around Mbilli, who has openly wanted the fight and has been presented as the obvious pick for Canelo’s comeback.
Mbilli’s rise to full champion
Mbilli won the interim title in June last year against Maciej Sulecki, then kept that status on the Canelo-Crawford bill after drawing with Lester Martinez. When Crawford was stripped, Mbilli was upgraded from interim to full WBC champion, putting him in the position Canelo now appears set to chase.
Canelo beat Callum Smith in a vacant title bout in 2020 to win the belt he held until Crawford took it away. The fight in Saudi Arabia would give him a shot at taking back that same title, while Mbilli would be defending the championship he inherited after the reshuffle at the top of the division.
What the rest of the division holds
The title picture is spread across the class. The WBA belt is with Jose Armando Resendiz, Osleys Iglesias has the IBF title, and the vacant WBO belt will be contested next month between Hamzah Sheeraz and Alem Begic.
For Canelo, that leaves the WBC route as the clearest target on September 12. For Mbilli, it is the fight that can turn his upgraded status into the division’s most visible defense, with Saudi Arabia now looking like the place where the next step gets taken.
