Christian Mbilli and Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez made weight at 12st (76kg) for their WBC super-middleweight title fight in Riyadh on Saturday, just 24 hours after two ballistic missiles were intercepted over the Saudi capital. The weigh-in proceeded despite UK Foreign Office advice against all but essential travel to Saudi Arabia and recent missile strikes that killed 13 at King Khalid International Airport in October.
Alvarez, 36, enters the ring for the 69th time in a career spanning 21 years since his 2005 debut. He fights without a world title for the first time since 2015 after losing to Terence Crawford in September 2025. "My experience is different... I'll teach him tomorrow," Alvarez said. Cameroon-born Mbilli, 31, is unbeaten in 30 professional fights (29 wins, 24 by stoppage) and vowed: "Tomorrow night I will beat him in every way."
The card, billed as Mexico v the World, also features Jaime Munguia defending his WBA super-middleweight title against Nikita Zon and Rafael Espinoza putting his WBO featherweight belt on the line against Ricardo Blandon. Lindolfo Delgado withdrew from his IBF light-welterweight title bout against Artur Biyarslanov earlier this week.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing