Boxing Schedule: Canelo vs. Christian Mbilli

Subscribe now The Return of Canelo How to Watch: 11 AM PST on DAZN PPV with free prelims starting at 7 AM PST Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has had a sleepy, if not forgettable, last two years. He nearly lost to William Scull, then lost to Terence Crawford, who moved up two weight classes to fight him. Now in the twilight of his career, he faces Christian Mbilli, the WBC super middleweight champ. Everything about this is messy. The undercard was announced only a few weeks out. Questions arose about whether the card would happen; nothing has been a plug-and-play, easy experience. Also, Alvarez is an older fighter. He has been pro for 21 years and is 36. He is closer to retirement than going on a legacy run, as he did eight years ago. Stylistically, it can go one of two ways. Mbilli is a pressure fighter who could play into Alvarez’s ability to counterpunch, but the intrigue comes from the fact that Mbilli could outwork Alvarez, who, to me, looks mentally checked out of the sport. Also, Alvarez is older, and sometimes a young, physical fighter can trouble an older fighter. Let’s be honest: it is good to have Canelo back. It just seems the circumstances of the fight, and the unrest in the region, including the U.S. embassy evacuating Saudi Arabia, have been the story; more than the fight itself. On the undercard: Jaime Munguia will defend his WBA super middleweight title against Nikita Zon. What is weird is that “Bek The Bully” is the mandatory opponent for Munguia’s title. It is a step back for Munguia, especially after a good win over Armando Resendiz to win the belt. Rather indifferent about this one. A sneaky good fight turned meh. The WBO featherweight titleholder Rafael Espinoza was set to face Lorenzo Parra. Espinoza has been a revelation since upsetting Robeisy Ramirez in 2023. Espinoza has now held his title for nearly three years. Parra just knocked out Elijah Pierce in February. I talked myself into this being a good one, but it is off. Instead, Espinoza will face Ricardo Blandon. I would be shocked if this fight lasted all that long. I wish we saw Espinoza more often this year, as it has been a rather silent year for the featherweight division. Then, Lindolfo Delgado and Arthur Biyarslanov were set to fight for the vacant IBF junior welterweight title. Now, Delgado has elected not to go to Saudi Arabia, with the story developing as we speak. Biyarslanov appears to be off the card. The remaining silver lining of the undercard: former Naoya Inoue opponent, David Picasso, will face Carl Martin. The bout could be fun, since both are limited and aggressive.