The newest catchphrase in boxing is “Whatever Canelo wants, he gets.”
By selecting WBC super-middleweight champion Christian Mbilli as his next opponent with this weekend’s formal announcement by Saudi Arabia boxing financier Turki Alalshikh, Alvarez has an opportunity to script his exit on his own terms.
Alvarez, turning 36 in July, will have one fight remaining on his lucrative union with Alalshikh after meeting Mbilli, 29-0-1 (24 KOs), who was elevated from interim to full champion when Alvarez’s most recent conqueror, five-division champion Terence Crawford, defeated him by unanimous decision in September at Allegiant Stadium and later relinquished the belt.
While the prior criticism aimed at Alvarez over not fighting his mandatory contender David Benavidez when Canelo reigned as undisputed super-middleweight champion is valid, it’s now just plain silly to keep pushing for the fight now.
With Benavidez having just won impressively to become a unified cruiserweight champion, that fight is off the table, surely for good. Let’s accept it and move on.
Coming off elbow surgery in the fall to repair nagging pain, Alvarez, 63-3-2 (39 KOs), has selected a formidable, power-punching foe in Mbilli, who on the same September card as Alvarez-Crawford, engaged in the WBC fight of the year in a draw versus Lester Martinez.
Mbilli’s toe-to-toe willingness, pursuit of the knockout, and the fact he wears the WBC 168lbs belt makes him a quality choice in a landscape where the WBO title is vacant awaiting Hamzah Sheeraz’s coming crowning, Alvarez stablemate Jaime Munguia holding the WBA belt and little-known Cuban Osleys Iglesias owning the IBF strap.
A unification bout against Sheeraz would be the likely close to Alvarez’s deal with the Saudis, but first he has to get past Mbilli, who would crave furthering his career by stepping on the head of the former face of boxing – a four-division champion and ex-pound-for-pound king who still draws more interest from Mexican fight fans than any man.
The fact that the bout is occurring in Saudi Arabia – as Alvarez’s forgettable opening show against William Scull did – will chafe many in his fan base as it appears Ryan Garcia will make a move to claim the prized Mexican Independence Day weekend card in Las Vegas.
Yet, business is business, and there are many dramatic points to stew on until the first bell rings on the September 12 main event in Riyadh.
Does Alvarez still possess the boxing acumen and ring generalship to outclass a fighter with limited versatility?
Will Canelo dare to mimic Martinez by making the Mbilli fight a war?
Will the WBC mandate that a victorious Alvarez – or Mbilli – meet interim champion Martinez?
Frankly, should Martinez continue his impressive run, the Guatemalan recently honored by the nation’s president, could make the case he’s the most worthy available foe.
First things first, Alvarez is out to prove he’s recovered, that he’s shaken off the effects of the Crawford loss and that he’s the same magnetizing talent that carried his sport through the past decade.
Victory in September moves his story along to the next choice and next debate.
Defeat washes away the Whatever Canelo wants… storyline and moves us to the other tale we know so well in this sport.
It’s the one that begins with five words.
Time waits for no man.
