Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is scheduled to return to the ring on September 12 in Saudi Arabia, and the only official announcement so far calls it a world title fight but does not name his opponent.

Last September, Canelo lost all four of his super middleweight world titles to Terence Crawford. While Crawford has retired and scattered the belts, the Mexican icon has decided to keep fighting and has every intention of regaining one title immediately, as he recently said Grass Bear.

“I am unstoppable because I am not invincible or perfect in any way, but that doesn’t stop me from remaining excited, believing and dreaming about what is to come and that I will become world champion again.”

Christian Mbilli, who was promoted from interim WBC champion after dismantling Crawfordhas been the obvious candidate for some time, but teams on both sides have been careful not to say too much.

With that deadline approaching and the promotion proper about to begin, Canelo’s long-time trainer and manager Eddy Reynoso has now confirmed to Lance Pugmire that he indeed expects Mbilli to be in the opposite corner.

Eddy Reynoso @CANELOTEAM told me today that he expects Mbilli to be Canelo’s September opponent in Saudi Arabia, and when I asked him if Canelo wants Cinco de Mayo to return, he replied, “Yes, of course.”

— Lance Pugmire (@pugboxing) April 30, 2026

Mbilli won the interim title last June against Maciej Sulecki and retained it on the Canelo-Crawford ticket after drawing with Lester Martinez.

The Cameroonian and French champion has expressed great interest in fighting Canelo, rightly calling it the biggest fight he has on offer. He also said he expected a rematch with Martinez, who has since won the interim belt.

This fight, pending an official announcement, gives Canelo a chance to regain the belt he has held since 2020, when he defeated Callum Smith of Great Britain in a title fight. Time will tell if he will challenge for the undisputed title again, but if he does, he will face a recent challenge in this division. The WBA belt is now in the hands of Jose Armando Resendiz, and Cuban boxer Osleys Iglesias has taken over the IBF belt. Hamzah Sheeraz and Al Begic will face each other next month for the vacant WBO title.

In his last fight last November, Benavidez defended the WBC lithe heavyweight championship, defeating Anthony Yarde in the 7th round. This will be his first cruiserweight fight and it will be the biggest jump you can make in terms of maximum weight limits – 25 pounds between the 175-pound lithe heavyweight limit and the 200-pound cruiserweight limit.

For Ramirez, his last fight came last June when he won a 12-round unanimous decision over Yuniel Dorticos to defend his unified cruiserweight title. Since moving up to cruiserweight, Ramirez is on a four-fight winning streak. The only defeat of his professional career came at 175 against reigning lithe heavyweight king Dmitry Bivol.

Who will win the upcoming cruiserweight championship clash between David Benavidez and Gilberto Ramirez?

This release Rummy Corner will try to answer this question and give you a quick preview of the fight.

May is another month on DAZN. On May 2, the same day that Benavidez will face Zurdo, there will be a huge fight between undefeated Japanese fighters Junto Nakatani and the undisputed king of the junior featherweight division, the one and only Naoya Inoue.

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Terence Crawford has responded to criticism leveled at him since his retirement.

The five-weight world champion hung up his gloves at the end of last year following an impressive victory over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, leaving the sport undefeated and with a record-breaking legacy.

Although most people praised the timing of his decision to retire, some believe that “Bud” should have stayed with the team to prove himself against the novel generation, namely Jaron Ennis.

In a series of social media posts, Crawford appeared to refer to an interview with “Boots” Ennis in which the 28-year-old claimed that if the fight did happen, he would be confident of winning by knockout.

He posted to say this.

— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) April 30, 2026

Crawford added that he “waived or rejected” the challenge. While he suggested it wasn’t directed at Ennis, he quickly added that the rising star’s career “would be over” if he fought.

“How did you get Boots out of what I just said? It’s crazy how you all play like you like him but want me [to] end your career before it starts, because that would definitely happen.

lol how did you get Boots out of what I just said?🤣🤣🤣 it’s crazy how you all play the way you like him but you wanted me to end his career before it started because that would definitely have happened.🤣🤣 smh, let me tell you something else.

— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) April 30, 2026

The undisputed three-weight champion then said Ennis couldn’t tie his shoes.

How he can’t even tie my shoes

— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) April 30, 2026

“Boots” won the IBF interim welterweight title around the same time that Crawford was becoming the undisputed leader of the division by defeating Errol Spence. He was later promoted to full champion when “Bud” increased in weight.

With fighting no longer an option, Ennis is now focused on creating his own legacy in the sport. In June, he has a chance to become a unified two-division world champion when he faces Xander Zayas for the Puerto Rican’s WBO and WBA super welterweight belts. This is a fight that “Bud” is supporting “Boots” to win.