What time is Canelo vs Mbilli fight? Ring walks, TV channel, undercard, prediction and odds

The Mexican boxing icon contests a high-profile showdown in Riyadh, where the card is going ahead as planned despite the escalating conflict between Saudi Arabia and Houthi forces, which has led to other sporting events in the country being postponed of late.

Canelo is hoping to become a super-middleweight title-holder once more in what is a first bout since seeing his second stint as undisputed champion at 168lbs ended in a one-sided defeat by the now retired Terence Crawford in last year’s super-fight in Las Vegas.

That was only the third loss of a remarkable and illustrious professional career that has now spanned an incredible 21 years and 68 fights, snapping a run of six successive wins since his emphatic defeat by Dmitry Bivol up at light-heavyweight back in 2022. Floyd Mayweather Jr is the only other man to defeat Canelo in the pro ranks to date.

But he could face another tough test against Mbilli, who was elevated from interim to full super-middleweight champion by the WBC back in January after Crawford was stripped of the title due to a dispute over sanctioning fees and then retired.

The Cameroonian-born citizen of France and Canada is undefeated at 29-0-1 and initially claimed the interim crown with a first-round knockout of Maciej Sulecki last summer, later retaining it in a thrilling 10-round split-draw with Lester Martinez on the undercard of Canelo-Crawford.

A rematch was ordered, as was a fight against former WBO champion Hamzah Sheeraz, but those were cancelled as Canelo emerged as the opponent for a daunting first title defence.

Showdown: Canelo Alvarez will hope to become the first man to beat Christian Mbilli

AFP/Getty

When is Canelo vs Mbilli?

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez vs Christian Mbilli takes place tonight on Saturday October 31, 2026 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

It is Halloween of course but also the start of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Canelo’s native Mexico.

What time is Canelo vs Mbilli?

The timings for Canelo vs Mbilli are actually very friendly for UK fight fans, with the main undercard expected to begin at 4pm GMT on Saturday afternoon. That is 12pm ET, 11am CT and 9am PT in the United States.

Ring walks for the main event are expected at approximately 8:30pm GMT, 4:30pm ET, 3:30pm CT and 1:30pm PT. As ever, those exact times are subject to change.

Where to watch Canelo vs Mbilli

TV channel and live stream: The fight is being shown live via DAZN pay-per-view at a cost of £24.99, with an eight-day free trial of DAZN included.

Canelo vs Mbilli undercard

As well as the ‘Return of the King’, Saturday night’s card is also being billed as ‘Mexico vs the World’ as a number of the country’s top fighters take centre stage alongside Canelo.

Former Canelo opponent Jaime Munguia defends his WBA super-middleweight title for the first time against Russian southpaw Nikita Zon, while Rafael Espinoza puts his WBO featherweight belt on the line against Ricardo ‘Big Bam’ Blandon of Nicaragua.

Canelo Alvarez vs Christian Mbilli

Jaime Munguia vs Nikita Zon

Rafael Espinoza vs Ricardo Blandon

Raymundo Rojas vs Reito Tsutsumi

David Picasso vs Carl Martin

Erick Villegas vs Sultan Almohammed

Marcos Vazquez vs Bek Nurmaganbet

Carlos Emiliano Rojo vs Flavius Biea

Hector Aguirre vs Brayan Leon

Canelo vs Mbilli prediction

Canelo to win a hard-fought, tense and highly-technical chess match on points to become a super-middleweight world champion once again.

Canelo vs Mbilli weigh-in results

Canelo tipped the scales in Riyadh on Friday at 167.6lbs, while Mbilli was fractionally heavier at 167.8lbs. Both men were comfortably inside the 168lb super-middleweight limit.

Canelo vs Mbilli odds

Canelo to win: 4/11

Mbilli to win: 12/5

Draw: 16/1

Canelo to win on points or by decision: 8/11

Canelo to win by knockout, technical knockout or disqualification: 4/1

Mbilli to win on points or by decision: 4/1

Mbilli to win by knockout, technical knockout or disqualification: 7/1