Terence Crawford was the last man to share the ring with Canelo Alvarez and he has now predicted the Mexican’s upcoming battle with Christian Mbilli this weekend.
Canelo will attempt to claim world honours once again when he challenges Mbilli for his WBC super-middleweight title in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
The last time Alvarez competed was back in September 2025, when he lost his undisputed crown at 168lbs to Crawford, with the American choosing to hang up the gloves after that iconic unanimous decision victory.
Following that retirement, the world title belts at super-middleweight were fragmented, and Mbilli was able to capitalise as he was elevated from WBC interim champion to full champion.
Mbilli’s last outing also came back in September 2025, where he fought to a draw with Lester Martinez, serving as the first time in 30 fights that the 31-year-old didn’t get his hand raised.
While that draw may have meant Mbilli is still unbeaten in his career, Crawford has told DAZN that he believes the defending champion will find it extremely tough against Alvarez.
“Styles make fights and Mbilli’s style is tailor made for Canelo. Mbilli can’t do nothing but press Canelo. I don’t see him beating Canelo in a boxing match. I think his best success will be letting his hands go, roughing Canelo up and making it a dog fight.”
If Mbilli is victorious, he has told Boxing News that he would be open to a rematch, or a unification against IBF champion and promotional stablemate Osleys Iglesias.
