Canelo Alvarez's Fight Against Christian Mbilli Pushed Back

Canelo Alvarez's return from a year-long hiatus will have to wait at least one more month.

Alvarez has not fought since September 2025, when he lost the unified super middleweight titles to Terence Crawford in the biggest combat sports event of the year. The 35-year-old took some well-deserved time away from the sport following the loss, before it was announced he would return almost exactly one year later against the new WBC 168-pound champion, Christian Mbilli.

Alvarez and Mbilli were scheduled to headline a massive "Mexico vs. The World" fight card on Sept. 12 that would serve as the launch of Canelo Promotions. However, the event has been postponed to late October, according to Mike Coppinger.

Canelo vs Mbilli postponed

‼️ BREAKING: The Canelo Alvarez-Christian Mbili fight for the WBC super middleweight title has been postponed and will now take place in late October in Riyadh, The Ring’s @MikeCoppinger has learned.

The fight was originally set to take place Sept. 12. Now, part of a growing… pic.twitter.com/6Uv4jYZSM7
— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) June 28, 2026

No reason was given for the date change, and everything else about the fight appears to remain the same. The event is still being billed as "Mexico vs. The World" and will broadcast on DAZN from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, under the Riyadh Season banner.

As of the time of the announcement, only Alvarez and Mbilli are confirmed to be fighting on the card. At least four other Mexicans are expected to compete on the undercard, with Alvarez's close friend, Jaime Munguia, rumored to be one of them.

The fight was initially announced for Sept. 12 to celebrate Mexican Independence Day, which falls on Sept. 16, 2026.

Canelo Alvarez vs. Christian Mbilli delay opens up Sept. 1

The Alvarez-Mbilli postponement could hint at another massive boxing announcement forthcoming for Sept. 12. Ryan Garcia has already claimed that he will return on that date to defend the WBC welterweight title in Las Vegas against Conor Benn.

Nobody other than Garcia, who made the announcement on 'The Tonight Show,' has confirmed the fight. The 27-year-old further teased that an official announcement will be coming in early July.

Floyd Mayweather has also been linked to a potential exhibition in mid-September, either against Mike Tyson or Mike Zambidis. The troubled 49-year-old initially announced his return to professional boxing against Manny Pacquiao in September, but that fight is now being pushed back a few months as 'Money' looks to rebook one of his two recently failed matchups. Mayweather's fight against Zambidis was scheduled for today (June 27), though it was canceled due to legal issues.

Even if another big fight gets announced for Sept. 12, it remains interesting that the Alvarez-Mbilli event is moving dates. Alvarez has been targeting the date for the sole purpose of the grand launch of Canelo Promotions during the week of Mexican Independence Day since January.

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