Tim Bradley anticipates a “hell of a fight” unfolding between Canelo Alvarez and Christian Mbilli, but only sees one man emerging victorious on October 31.
The pair will collide in a super-middleweight contest in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with Mbilli making a first defence of his WBC world title.
He was upgraded from ‘interim’ to full champion following the retirement of Terence Crawford, who became the undisputed 168lb king by dethroning Canelo with a unanimous decision victory in September.
That same night, Mbilli defended his then-interim belt with a 10-round draw against Lester Martinez, producing a performance that aptly reflected his high-volume style.
But while the Frenchman does, indeed, force a considerable pace in the ring, many doubt that this will be enough to trump the 36-year-old Canelo.
Despite coming to the end of his decorated career, the Mexican hardly disgraced himself against Crawford and, prior to that, had remained unbeaten since his 2022 defeat to Dmitry Bivol.
Not only that, but many feel Alvarez is a more technically savvy operator than Mbilli, who throws punches in bunches but typically comes forward in straight lines.
It is partly because of this that Hall of Famer Bradley, while speaking with FightHype, has predicted a dominant victory for Canelo.
“He going to piece Mbilli’s ass up. I like Mbilli – tough guy, comes to bring the pain. It’s going to be a hell of a fight. But Canelo going to catch and shoot on his ass all night long.
“Uppercuts, hooks … it’s going to be bad. [Canelo’s] going to look like he’s back [to his best].”
By “catch and shoot”, Bradley means he is expecting Canelo to punish Mbilli with his counterpunching prowess, even if the 31-year-old keeps springing back with relentless aggression.
