Bob Arum has weighed in on Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez’s comeback fight against new WBC super-middleweight world champion Christian Mbilli.
Formerly undisputed at 168lbs, Canelo lost all four of his belts to Terence Crawford last year. It was his first loss in the division and just the third of his 68-fight career, having previously been beaten by two other pound-for-pound stars in Floyd Mayweather and Dmitry Bivol.
Though the American’s subsequent retirement means the Mexican icon cannot land a rematch, it also scattered the titles, giving Alvarez opportunities to become champion again.
Mbilli was the first to benefit from Crawford hanging up the gloves, being elevated from interim to full WBC champion shortly after.
Speaking to Ring Magazine’s Rick Reeno, Arum – who has co-promoted Mbilli and has been consistently full of praise for the champion for years – backed the upset.
“I think it’s the end of the road for Canelo. Mbilli is a hell of a fighter. Very tenacious, very confident, and I’m looking for him to beat Canelo.”
Mbilli believes that Canelo has ‘lost a step’ from his prime, and has promised to exploit that come fight night. Canelo, on the other hand, has boldly claimed that Mbilli would not be able to beat him ‘even if he was 50’.
Fans will have to wait a little longer to see how the veteran promoter’s prediction stacks up, with news this weekend that the event has been moved from September 12 to a date in October, with no reason why clear at this moment in time.
