Canelo set for Riyadh title fight as Saudi unrest clouds build-up

Canelo Alvarez touched down in Riyadh on Monday ahead of his WBC super-middleweight title challenge against Christian Mbilli, with the bout still scheduled to go ahead at the ANB Arena on Saturday 31 October.

The fight forms the headline bout of a card billed as "Mexico vs the World", pitting leading Mexican champions and contenders against opponents drawn from across the sport, according to Yahoo Sports.

Mbilli, the WBC champion from Quebec, will be making the first defence of his title against Canelo, who previously held the undisputed super-middleweight crown.

Fight Week is due to begin on Wednesday with the traditional grand arrivals, and tickets for Saturday's show remained on sale this week, with seats in the upper tier priced at £41.85, Independent Sport reported.

The build-up has unfolded against a backdrop of continued hostilities between Saudi Arabia and the Yemen-aligned Houthis, with Saudi authorities reporting that strikes on Riyadh's airports in recent weeks have left at least 21 people dead and more than 300 injured, Independent Sport reported.

Riyadh's international airport has since reopened, but the US Department of State has told citizens to "reconsider travel to Saudi Arabia due to risk of drone and missile targeting", while it has designated areas close to the Yemen border "do not travel due to terrorism", per Independent Sport.

Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has issued a similar warning, advising against all but essential travel to parts of the country and against any travel within 10km of the Yemen border.

Saudi adviser Turki Alalshikh, described by Independent Sport as the sport's most influential matchmaker since 2023, has publicly dismissed any suggestion the event should be reconsidered.

Alalshikh wrote earlier this month that Canelo "fears nothing", and praised Saudi Arabia as a country that is "home to the two Holy Mosques, land of peace, safety, rich civilisation, deep history and kind-hearted people".

On arriving in Riyadh, Canelo said he was pleased to be there, adding: "I love to be here in Riyadh, and I'm excited to fight on Saturday, so I can be a world champion again," according to Yahoo Sports.

He arrived alongside former undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, having been based at Usyk's gym in Valencia, Spain, along with several of his stablemates during training.

WBO featherweight champion Rafael "Divino" Espinoza travelled with Canelo's party, and WBA super-middleweight champion Jaime Munguia was reported to have likely made the same trip, though he was not pictured on arrival.

Mbilli and his Eye of the Tiger Management stablemate Arthur Biyarslanov, who fights on the same card at super-lightweight, had already reached Riyadh several days earlier, having reportedly taken an alternative route into the Saudi capital.

Eye of the Tiger president Camille Estephan confirmed he intended to travel to Riyadh on Monday to be present for his fighters.

With Fight Week activities due to open on Wednesday, attention now turns to whether the event proceeds without disruption as Canelo prepares to challenge for Mbilli's title on Saturday night.