Canelo Alvarez is hoping to regain one of his former super-middleweight titles at the first time of asking when he makes his comeback this October against WBC champion Christian Mbilli. Two-time welterweight ruler Shawn Porter has revealed his prediction for the fight.

Alvarez lost all four of his belts at 168lbs to Terence Crawford last September and has since been sidelined due to an elbow injuryas Crawford’s retirement saw the coronation of four new world champions.

One of those beneficiaries was Mbilli, who had been in possession of the WBC Interim crown when ‘Bud’ decided to hang up the glovesallowing him to be elevated to full champion and then lined up for a showdown with Canelo.

Canelo’s remaining quality at the age of 36 is an ongoing debate amongst fans and analysts, leading many to predict an intriguing and potentially even fight. Yet, speaking on The PorterWay Podcast‘Showtime’ said that Alvarez will look like an ‘A++ fighter’ come fight night.

“Canelo truly does have that fast twitch; he is explosive, but he is explosive with speed and quickness and that fast twitch is going to get Canelo to that mark a little bit quicker.

“Yeah, I think [he can still do it] at 36. If you think about it, even though Canelo is not that ‘A++’ fighter that he used to be, he is still a solid ‘A’ and that solid ‘A’ will beat a solid ‘B’ [in Mbilli].

“That solid ‘B’ will make a solid ‘A’ look like an ‘A++’, so I think that he is going to look ‘A++’.”

Canelo-Mbilli takes place on Saturday, October 31, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The super-middleweight duo will top a ‘Mexico vs. The World’ themed bill, which could feature a bantamweight title unification between WBA champion and pound-for-pound sensation Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez and WBO titleholder Christian Medina.

Canelo Alvarez could be ordered to enter an immediate title defence if he emerges victorious against Christian Mbilli on October 31.

The Mexican has not fought since September 2025, when he was relieved of his undisputed super-middleweight crown after losing a unanimous decision to Terence Crawford.

On that same card, Mbilli retained his WBC ‘interim’ strap following a 10-round draw against Lester Martinezmaintaining his position as one of the top contenders at 168lbs.

The Frenchman was then upgraded to full world champion in December, with Crawford having relinquished his four major titles and announced his retirement as a three-division undisputed king.

Canelo will therefore have the opportunity to reclaim one of his old belts in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with Mbilli making a first defence of his WBC title.

The winner of their showdown may then be ordered to face Martinez, as the unbeaten mandatory challenger comes off two successful defences of his WBC ‘interim’ strap.

Most recently, the 30-year-old scored a 10th-round stoppage of Luka Plantic last weekend, which followed his unanimous decision victory over Immanuwel Aleem in March.

Speaking at the post-fight presser following his win against Plantic, Martinez said through a translator that he expects to eventually face both Canelo and Mbilli.

“No, look, at the end of the day, I’ve said it before: the second fight [with Mbilli] will happen, possibly next year or the year after. But either one of those fights makes sense for us.

“We know the eyes of the world are going to be on [Mbilli-Canelo]and because we’re going to be there, we’re going to take advantage of all of that. But both fights are going to happen.”

Having already created the “blueprint” to defeat Canelo, Crawford trainer Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre said afterwards that he is supremely confident in guiding Martinez to victory against either Alvarez or Mbilli.

Ryan Garcia has labelled Terence Crawford a “hater” after being told that the all-time great is favouring Conor Benn to pull off a sizable upset.

The 28-year-old will make a first defence of his WBC title against Benn on September 12, headlining an event at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

To his credit, it was arguably a career-best performance that saw Garcia dethrone Mario Barriosdominating their February encounter with a unanimous decision victory.

At the very least, it was a vastly improved display than the one he produced against Rolando Romero, who convincingly outpointed ‘King Ry’ in May 2025.

This result followed his year-long doping ban, however, which can perhaps partly explain why Garcia underperformed so spectacularly against his low-volume opponent.

As for his upcoming clash with Benn, most would argue that the American is superior from both a skill and experience perspective, while ‘The Destroyer’ possibly boasts an edge when it comes to heart and durability.

These qualities were evident during his first encounter with Chris Eubank Jr, which he lost by unanimous decision in 2025 before winning their rematch later that year.

It is perhaps based on those two performances, then, that Crawford has decided to back heavy underdog Bennwho has not fought at 147lbs since 2022 and notoriously tested positive for banned substance clomifene that same year.

Speaking with FightHypethough, Garcia could not accept that ‘Bud’ is being fully genuine with his prediction.

“[Crawford] is really a hater – he needs to get out of retirement already. I think I can beat Crawford – I don’t give a f**k about no Conor Benn.”

Crawford called time on his illustrious career in December, just a few months removed from dethroning Canelo Alvarez and becoming a three-division undisputed champion.