Key points:
- Canelo Alvarez has delayed his title challenge against WBC super middleweight champion Christian Mbilli to October 31
- Canelo cited family responsibilities for postponing the start of training camp
- The move means Canelo won’t fight on his usual Mexican Independence Day weekend slot
- Fight venue remains undecided, with Riyadh still under consideration
Canelo Alvarez has pushed his title fight against WBC super middleweight champion Christian Mbilli back to October 31, saying family matters delayed the start of his training camp.
“Some problems in my family that I need to fix, but everything is good. But I always am very disciplined, organized with my training camps, and I wasn’t ready to be in the training camp. So that’s why I postponed that fight because I needed to attend to my family first. But all good now; I’m ready to train, and we’re going to be all good on October 31. Yeah, Halloween, that’s the new date,” Canelo said on the Ariel Helwani Show.
The delay means Canelo, 36, misses his traditional Mexican Independence Day weekend date, having already sat out Cinco de Mayo earlier this year while recovering from elbow surgery. He was quick to note the shift doesn’t diminish his connection to the date he usually fights on. “For me, every day is Mexican Day. I feel very proud of representing Mexico,” he said.
The venue for the fight against Mbilli, who won the WBC title earlier this month, hasn’t been finalized. “We don’t decide yet if it’s going to be in Riyadh. We’re going to decide which venue and place,” Canelo said.