Saul ‘Canelo‘ Alvarez hasn’t come up against a super-middleweight that has the tools to beat him.
The unified champion has just two losses on his 65-fight record, one to Floyd Mayweather at a catchweight of 152 pounds back in 2013 and another to Dmitry Bivol in an attempted jump up to light-heavyweight.
Having been undisputed in the division – but recently stripped of the IBF title – and with four defences of that status under his belt, Canelo has ruled the 168 ranks without much hassle, although many feel he has avoided the division’s biggest challenge in David Benavidez.
Veteran promoter Bob Arum believes another man has the beating of the 34-year-old from Guadalajara – Christian Mbilli.
The 29-year-old is 27-0 with 23 stoppages and won some youth and international belts at middleweight before moving up. He was last out in May with a first round stoppage of Mark Heffron and returns to the ring this weekend to face tough Ukrainian Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
Speaking to Boxing News when the fight was announced, Arum – who has branded Mbilli ‘fearless’ in the ring – said the contender could give both Canelo and Benavidez a run for their money.
“We really think that Mbilli would give Canelo a hell of a fight, I think he would beat Canelo, but whatever it would be a really good fight. I think Mbilli also would be very competitive with Benavidez. He’s fighting for us in August, I’ll be there in Quebec …. he is really a force to be reckoned with.”
Canelo returns to the ring on September 14 to face undefeated Edgar Berlanga. Benavidez, tired of chasing a fight with the champ, has decided to move up to 175.
