The legendary Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is in a rare spot, going from the hunted to the hunter as he challenges undefeated Christian Mbilli for the WBC super middleweight championship at The Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday night, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

Canelo Alvarez (1.30) vs Christian Mbilli (3.20) (WBC Super Middleweight Championship)

Saturday, October 31, 10 PM SA time

Last September, Canelo’s world came crashing down when he lost the undisputed middleweight title to Terence Crawford in a superfight between two of boxing’s all-time greats.

He had entered the blockbuster showdown with a stellar record of 63-2-2 with 39 knockouts. His only two losses had come to Floyd Mayweather in 2013 and Dmitry Bivol in 2022, both by decision.

There were excusable reasons for both of those blemishes. He was not yet the complete package that he would become when he fought Mayweather, while Bivol – the reigning WBA light heavyweight champion at the time – was simply too big. 

However, for the first time in his career, the Mexican icon was outclassed in the fight against Crawford, who put on a masterful performance over 12 rounds to dethrone Canelo. “Bud” retired immediately after the bout, finishing his Hall of Fame career on top, while Canelo vowed to fight on.

The burning questions now are: who is Canelo if not a champion, how will he respond to the most emphatic loss of his career, and what does he have left at the age of 36?

Canelo had a seven-year reign as champion and was the face of boxing for over a decade. Having been reduced to a king without a crown, Canelo not only has a physical battle on his hands but a mental one as well.

His last four opponents – Jaime Munguia, Edgar Berlanga, William Scull and Crawford – had a combined record of 129-0, and he bounced all but Crawford from the ranks of the unbeaten.

Thus, he’s no stranger to beating undefeated foes, and he’ll have to do it again on Saturday night.

Known as “The French Mike Tyson”, Mbilli has a record of 29-0-1. That ‘1’ was a split draw with Lester Martinez in his last fight, which happened to be on the Canelo-Crawford undercard.

An aggressive fighter who constantly moves forward, the 31-year-old has 24 wins by knockout, including a first-round stoppage of Maciej Sulecki to win the interim WBC title.

Mbilli, who was elevated to full champion following Crawford’s retirement, faces a huge step up in competition in this clash, as his only somewhat high-profile win was a decision victory over Sergiy Derevyanchenko, an experienced Ukrainian who had previously challenged for world titles against elite opposition, including Gennady Golovkin, Daniel Jacobs and Jermall Charlo.

Seeing as though the fight will take place on Halloween, it’s true that Mbilli has so far been like the villain in the Halloween movies, Michael Myers, in that he’s an unstoppable predatory pursuer. His style is high-volume punching, relentless forward pressure, and heavy combinations.

However, it’s also true that he’s never faced anyone remotely close to Canelo’s level. Canelo has power and skill in equal measure. As complete as they come, he can walk down and overwhelm an opponent, or outbox him, depending on the situation.

Mbilli does have power, but he’s too one-dimensional to compete with a sweet science savant like Canelo. Crucially, he’s very square and will be there to be hit all night. With Canelo looking to lure Crawford out of retirement, he’ll look to make a statement and sit down on his punches, which should see him stop Mbilli and regain the WBC title.

Prediction: Canelo by knockout.

Best Bet: Canelo by KO/TKO/DQ at 4.30.

Alternative Bet: Canelo by decision at 1.74.