Canelo Alvarez reveals number of fights left and explains why Mbilli bout was delayed

Canelo Alvarez last fought on September 13, 2025, when he lost his super middleweight titles to Terence Crawford. Immediately after that loss, many wondered when we would see Canelo back in a boxing ring, and against whom. It was announced that the legendary Mexican would challenge Christian Mbilli for the Cameroonian’s WBC super middleweight title, which he was elevated to following the non-payment of sanction fees by Terence Crawford. The September 12 fight was subsequently delayed until October 31, with Canelo revealing the reason to Ariel Helwani and the number of fights he has left.

Canelo set to challenge Mbilli for WBC crown

Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KOs) comprehensively lost his undisputed super middleweight crown to Crawford. The Mexican had limited success throughout the 12 rounds, as “Bud” implemented a near-perfect plan. Prior to that, Alvarez had won six consecutive fights since losing to Dmitry Bivol.

Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs) last fought on the Canelo-Crawford undercard. He faced Lester Martinez, with the fight ending in a split draw and a fight of the year contender. Shortly after Mbilli-Martinez, Crawford was stripped of the title he won against Canelo Alvarez for failing to honour a payment agreement with the sanctioning body. After that, Crawford announced his retirement, with many wondering what Canelo would do next. 

Alvarez reveals future plans and discusses Mbilli delay

Discussing his future with Ariel Helwani, Alvarez revealed: “I don’t do it because I get big paydays. I do it because I still truly enjoy and love boxing.

“There is nothing left for me to prove because I’ve accomplished pretty much everything in boxing.

“Maybe there are 3-4 more fights left for me because I have other goals outside of boxing.”

Revealing the reason for the delay to the Mbilli bout, Canelo said:

“There were some problems in my family that I needed to take care of, but everything is good now.

“I’m always very disciplined and very organized with my training camps, and I wasn’t ready to be in training camp. That’s why I postponed the fight, I needed to take care of my family first.

“Everything’s good now. I’m ready to train, and we’ll be ready for October 31st… It’s going to be in Riyadh.”

Featured Image Credit:

Ed Mulholland/TKO Worldwide LLC via Getty Images