Canelo Alvarez will not take a pliable fight to Christian Mbilli, says trainer Manny Robles, who believes the undefeated contender will cause the Mexican star earnest problems in September.

This week, Robles shared his thoughts on the Sept. 12 fight while in Egypt, where he warned that WBC super middleweight champion Mbilli would have to give Canelo a tough test after a year outside the ring.

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Last updated: 20/05/2026 at 22:19

Months before his death, legendary trainer Angelo Dundee predicted that Juan Manuel Marquez would finally defeat Manny Pacquiao – shortly before the knockout that changed boxing forever.

Dundee, one of the brightest minds in sports history, predicted this in 2011 when discussing Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather and the growing tension around both rivalries.

The Hall of Fame trainer who guided Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard through some of boxing’s greatest nights noticed something that many others at the time ignored or underestimated.

“Marquez will fight a tough fight against Pacquiao every day he is alive,” Dundee said in an interview with Lem Satterfield in Ring.

“Probably Pacquiao’s toughest fight because Marquez is a guy who knows how to fight him.

“Split Decisions – Marquez.”

Pacquiao continued to be one of the most destructive forces in the sport and entered Marquez’s fourth fight as the overwhelming favorite, despite years of razor-sharp controversy between the two.

But Dundee realized something that finally couldn’t be denied.

Marquez never stopped believing he could beat Pacquiao.

Angelo Dundee predictions

Before the knockout that forever defined their rivalry, Marquez had been chasing an emphatic victory over Pacquiao for years.

Their first fight ended in a draw. Pacquiao then scored two narrow contest victories that many fans still debate.

Marquez refused to let the rivalry end and became obsessed with proving that he could finally defeat Pacquiao once and for all.

In 2012, he finally got the ending he wanted.

The right hand that left Pacquiao unconscious face to face immediately became one of the most repeated knockouts in boxing history.

Marquez later admitted he feared he had seriously injured Pacquiao after seeing his rival remain motionless following the knockout.

“When I reacted to Pacquiao, he still looked knocked out,” Marquez recalled years later.

“When I saw he reacted and was coming back to life, I was content.”

For many fans, the knockout permanently changed the perception of Pacquiao’s career.

Previously, World Boxing News examined how Timothy Bradley’s controversial defeat earlier this year could have pushed Pacquiao towards a fourth fight with Marquez, carrying more pressure and urgency than ever before.

That desperation could have created exactly the opening Marquez needed.

Dundee somehow saw the danger before anyone else.

Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather

That’s not the end of Dundee’s knowledge of Pacquiao.

While discussing a potential fight between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Dundee also supported Mayweather’s victory while questioning why the fight is taking so long.

Dundee didn’t know it would take another three years to get them both into the ropes.

“Mayweather wins,” Dundee said.

“I just don’t know why Mayweather doesn’t fight him.

“He goes around saying he’s the best fighter in the world? Well, fight the sucker. I think he beats Pacquiao.”

History eventually proved that Dundee was there too.

Mayweather defeated Pacquiao by unanimous decision in 2015 and retired undefeated.

Now, more than a decade later, Pacquiao is preparing for one last attempt to rewrite this rivalry when the two meet again in a Netflix-backed rematch later this year.

Ironically, Pacquiao himself recently admitted that he wants to give Mayweather the final ending that Marquez once gave him.

“I want Floyd to live with one defeat in his professional record and always remember who gave it to him,” Pacquiao said earlier this year.

Pacquiao is now chasing the kind of ending that Marquez once took from him.

Punch heard around the world

Dundee was a boxing legend. It was an honor to continue to have him with me as World Boxing News entered boxing in 2010.

Unfortunately, boxing lost Angelo in 2012 just weeks after he predicted that Marquez would finally beat Pacquiao.

Ali’s former coach was one of the few who predicted the Mexican’s greatest triumph before lightning finally struck.

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About the author

Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.

Although appreciated as the recent “face of boxing” and a global superstar, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s position among Mexican champions is becoming increasingly controversial. Now national legend Julio Cesar Chavez has spoken out about Alvarez’s place among his country’s many boxing icons.

Canelo’s supporters point to his world titles in four weight classes, his longevity at the elite level and victories over names such as Gennady Golovkin, Miguel Cotto and Sergey Kovalev as evidence that he is among the best Mexican fighters ever.

Critics may argue that his controversial scorecards, selective drafting and defeats to Floyd Mayweather, Dmitry Bivol and Terence Crawford put him behind iconic Mexican figures like Chavez and Salvador Sanchez in the all-time discussions.

– said Chavez, often considered the best in the country Luis Parra that in his opinion, Canelo has earned a place in the “top ten” in the country.

“Apart from me? Well, look, Mexico was great. [Salvador] Sanchez, [Rubén] Oliveres, [José] “Butter” Naples, [Marco Antonio] Barrera, [Erik] Morales, Canelo, [Humberto] “Chiquita” Gonzalez, Ricardo “Finito” López.”

“Yes, [Canelo belongs in the top 10]of course, man.

Canelo will look to further enhance his legacy as he tries to reclaim the super middleweight throne later this year, with a WBC crown fight against Christian Mbilli scheduled for Saturday, September 12.