Canelo Alvarez and Christian Mbilli both make weight in Riyadh

Canelo Alvarez and Christian Mbilli both made weight for their WBC super-middleweight world title fight in Riyadh on Friday, Sky Sports Boxing reported, clearing the way for Saturday's showdown at the heart of the "Mexico vs the World" card.

Both fighters weighed in at 167.75 pounds, Yahoo Sports reported, with all 18 boxers across the nine-bout bill making weight without issue.

The undercard opens with five preliminary bouts on DAZN Boxing from 11am ET, ahead of a four-fight pay-per-view portion starting at 2pm ET. Main event ringwalks are scheduled for 4:30pm ET, roughly 10:30pm in Riyadh. The pay-per-view card costs $79.99 or is included for DAZN Ultimate subscribers.

Yahoo Sports also reported that fighters were making their final preparations under the shadow of unrest in Riyadh linked to Iran-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen, though no further detail on the nature or scale of that threat was given.

Mbilli holds the WBC title but is regarded by many as the challenger given Alvarez's standing in the sport. Speaking in Spanish through translator Claudia Trejos, Alvarez stressed the significance of the occasion. "This is very important for me. I've been doing this for the last 21 years. I won my first title 16 years ago. So it's very important for me to be here to take that title and obviously get back into the world championship corner," he said.

Asked what he might show Mbilli that the champion has not encountered before, Alvarez replied: "My experience is obviously very different, and he's never faced anybody like me. So tomorrow, I'm going to teach him exactly what it is to face somebody like me."

Mbilli was equally direct. "Tomorrow night, I'm going to beat him in every way. Best conditioning, best punch, best technique. I'm going to put all my 100% on my fight," he said, promising a "fight of the decade." He added that a win over Alvarez would carry more weight than anything he has achieved so far: "After the victory, my life will change a lot. After the victory, my life will change very big," said Mbilli, who spoke English throughout fight week rather than his native French.

Alvarez, 37, will make the 70th ringwalk of a career that began with his first world title win over Miguel Cotto in 2015. This is his first fight since losing all four super-middleweight belts and the Ring Magazine title to Terence Crawford 14 months ago, and since having surgery on his elbow. Across 532 career rounds, he has scored knockdowns against Jermall Charlo, Jaime Munguia and Edgar Berlanga in recent fights but failed to finish any of them, with his last stoppage wins coming against Caleb Plant and Billy Joe Saunders in 2021. His last eight fights have all gone to the scorecards.

The bout is the third of a four-fight deal between Alvarez and Riyadh Season, with two of the three contests staged in Saudi Arabia; the Crawford fight was held at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas as an exception. Yahoo Sports reported that Alvarez wants to fight again in February to close out his Riyadh Season obligations, with ambitions to fight in Japan and to headline a homecoming bout at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City before he retires. A defeat to Mbilli would reportedly make a February rematch likely.

Mbilli arrives off a split draw with Lester Martinez in September 2025, in a fight Yahoo Sports described as an offensive spectacle. He must now prove that form translates against the far more experienced Alvarez in Riyadh on Saturday.