Канело Альварес Кристиан Мбиллигийн эсрэг тулааны өмнө сэтгэл зүйн хувьд тогтворгүй байна

Canelo Alvarez has never talked about Christian Mbilli this way. The dismissive remarks sound less like genuine confidence and more like irritation that the public actually believes Mbilli can beat him on October 31 in Riyadh.

“There’s no way he can fight like that because I’m not [Lester] Martinez,” Canelo said. “They took and threw punches like crazy, and they are strong, of course, but that’s not boxing,” he told DAZN during its “Face Off” preview.

“It’s just a different level. He’s going to find out. I love that style, and he’s strong. He knows he’s going to come forward, and I love that style because he’s going to be a lot of action, and I think you can fight a better fight. So, and yes, I love it.”

Canelo is right that he is nothing like Lester Martinez, but not for the reasons he thinks. Martinez is younger, naturally suited for the 168-pound division, and capable of maintaining heavy fire without demanding long respites. Canelo has never worked at the relentless clip Martinez and Mbilli generated in September 2025.

Mbilli also deserved better than the majority draw against Martinez. Martinez repeatedly shoved him back to flee close-quarters combat. Stricter refereeing would have penalized Martinez and kept him trapped inside the phone booth where Mbilli operates best.

Canelo has leaned heavily on resting against the ropes behind a high clamshell guard. Jaime Munguia and Edgar Berlanga offered predictable targets, firing textbook combinations and pausing long enough for Canelo to crack them with sharp counters.

Mbilli brings ugly, suffocating violence. He clubs looping hooks past the gloves, digs into the ribs, and hammers away at the arms. When Canelo backs into the cables to catch his breath, Mbilli will not politely step back after a three-punch flurry. He will keep firing until Canelo is forced to return fire or run.

Catching him with one clean counter will not solve the riddle. Mbilli absorbed flush bombs from Sergiy Derevyanchenko and Martinez without giving up an inch of ground. Canelo relies on his power to make opponents hesitant, earning the quiet intervals he needs to preserve his energy.

When Mbilli keeps swinging through return fire, Canelo will find himself dragged into the grueling war he has evaded for seasons. The Mexican star has suffered from mid-round breathers throughout his career. Mbilli can easily steal those rounds on sheer volume alone, regardless of how clean Canelo’s isolated shots appear.

Fans backing Gennadiy Golovkin to defeat Canelo years ago made complete sense. Golovkin was a terrifying puncher, an authentic middleweight, and a widely revered champion. Mbilli does not hold that prestige.

Backing Mbilli reveals the public perception of Canelo in 2026. Observers see a 36-year-old coming off a defeat to Terence Crawford, throwing fewer punches each outing, and staring down a rugged pressure fighter who refuses to grant him quiet moments.

Canelo’s matchmaking path invites that skepticism. Munguia, Berlanga, William Scull, Crawford, Jermell Charlo, and Billy Joe Saunders were not the most dangerous operators at super middleweight.

Canelo went out of his way to bypass David Benavidez, David Morrell, Lester Martinez, Osleys Iglesias, Diego Pacheco, Kevin Lele Sadjo, Bektemir Melikuziev, and Jacob Bank. That group offered youth, physical size, concussive power, and relentless forward pressure.

Bringing Oleksandr Usyk into training camp signals that Canelo understands the threat. Usyk thrives on relentless lateral footwork, sharp angles, and distance control. Enlisting Usyk proves Canelo knows that standing flat-footed against Mbilli is tactical suicide.

Loud words will not convince Mbilli to alter his identity. Relentless aggression is his calling card, and headlining the biggest event of his life provides every incentive to attack with reckless abandon. Canelo claims Mbilli requires ten versions of himself to pull off an upset. His reaction and his camp decisions reveal that a single Christian Mbilli is already consuming his thoughts.

That dismissive reaction during the DAZN preview was a dead giveaway. When a fighter starts preaching about how an opponent “doesn’t know real boxing” or claims the guy needs ten clones of himself to win, that is not calm supremacy talking. That is pure ego acting as armor because the doubt is creeping in.

He spent years insulating himself with opponents who either lacked the physical engine to drown him or were too small to hurt him. He could play the veteran master against Berlanga and Munguia because they respected his counters, stood at mid-range, and offered rhythmic breathing room. But Crawford stripped away that aura completely. Crawford showed the world that Canelo’s punch output has cratered and that an aging star cannot just bank rounds on reputation and isolated power shots anymore.

Now he faces Mbilli, a fighter who does not care about the sweet science aesthetics or Canelo’s legacy. Mbilli is built to exploit every single physical decline Canelo is trying to hide. The pacing issue is catastrophic. Mbilli throws relentlessly without conscience. Even in his physical prime, Canelo fought in brief spurts, often stealing rounds in the final thirty seconds after taking the first two minutes off. At 36, against a guy who works three minutes of every round, those rest periods become lost rounds on every judge’s card.