Why the time is now for Canelo Alvarez to prove that he still has it on the elite, championship level

Alvarez takes on a hungry Christian Mbilli on Saturday with a point to prove to fans, pundits and himself With the exception of the ongoing political tensions in the region, the biggest question facing Saturday's super middleweight title bout in Saudi Arabia is quite simple. How much does 36-year-old Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez have left after 68 fights and 21 years as a professional? Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KOs) will snap a 13-month layoff following elbow surgery when he challenges Christian Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs) inside Kingdom Arena in Riyadh (1 p.m. ET, DAZN PPV) for the WBC title that Alvarez lost via unanimous decision in his last appearance against Terence Crawford in 2025.

For the record, Alvarez is listed as high as a 3-to-1 betting favorite against the hard-charging Mbilli, a 31-year-old native of Cameroon who fights out of Montreal. But given Mbilli's conditioning and aggressive style, along with the concern as to how hungry Alvarez still is, especially after the humbling nature of seeing Crawford, two weeks shy of his 38th birthday, move up effectively three weight divisions to defeat him in their superfight. On the pre-fight "Face Off" show produced last month by DAZN, Alvarez and Mbilli answered questions while seated across the table from one another. Alvarez was asked directly whether he has any doubt in the