Canelo Alvarez is set to face undefeated boxer Christian Mbilli on Halloween (Oct. 31) for the WBC Super Middleweight title.
A little over one year on from Terrance Crawford’s underdog win against the former undisputed super middleweight champion, the 36-year old heads to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to face the current champion Mbilli, who was promoted from interim champion after Crawford retired last December.
Canelo Alvarez’s Mind ‘Wasn’t There’ during Crawford Fight
Canelo enters as a fairly sizeable -300 favorite over Mbilli ahead of the bout, but speaking to Heavy Sports’ Daniel Arwas at a DAZN media roundtable ahead of the fight, Alvarez shared what he took away from the loss to Crawford and how he has altered his preparation for the 31-year old Mbilli.
“You know, when you lose, you always…”, Canelo said, taking an extended pause for no less than eight seconds before continuing his response.
“When you lose, you always look back and look [at] your mistakes… You know, at this level, this match, it [needs] just very little to have the win or loss. So I think that I did a very good preparation for Crawford fight, but in the 5 weeks, my mind wasn’t there.”
Canelo Preparing for Volume Striker in Mbilli on Oct. 31
“And I always said, if things already happened, I’m not looking for [those] things. I’m gonna learn from that. And now I learn from that, and I’m looking for the next.” Alvarez continued.
“I’m looking for Mbilli, and you know, Mbilli is a fighter who goes and throws a lot of punches. I think that styles makes fights, and that’s what makes me happy.”
The Guadalajara native, who has still lost just three of his 68 professional boxing bouts, remains one of the most iconic figures in combat sports, and against a more face-on opponent in Mbilli, who fights more from inside the pocket and has finished three out of his past six opponents, Alvarez will have his work cut out for him on Saturday.
Canelo – Mbilli can be streamed on DAZN on October 31. The main card starts at 2pm ET, whilst the main event ring walks are expected at approximately 6pm ET.
Canelo Alvarez Reveals What He Learned From Terrance Crawford Loss