Will Canelo Alvarez Ojbect To Early Saudi Start This Time?

It was made official this weekend that Canelo Alvarez is back for September 12th in Saudi Arabia for the second time, recently. However, will he object to fighting early on Sunday morning there, like he did last May when he looked at times lethargic and disinterested in a 12 round decision over William Scull?

That is a central question for his bout this time with newly elevated WBC champ Christian Mbilli, and whether Canelo would want to fight instead late night Saturday Saudi time and therefore, much earlier in the day for the Western USA and his massive fan base in Mexico.

Insider Dan Rafael and I debated this on our new "Fight Freaks Unite Podcast" out Monday. You can hear more by clicking below,

Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KOs) has been regarded as boxing’s biggest star for the better part of the last decade. But, he's returning to the ring for the first time since suffering a 12-round decision loss to Terence Crawford in Las Vegas last September. Crawford, is retired (for now) and has vacated the four super middleweight titles.

Alvarez also underwent wrist surgery late last year that kept him sidelined for several months, raising questions about when he would return and who he would face next?

That opponent is Mbilli, the Cameroon native who now fights out of Montreal. Mbilli appeared on the undercard of the Canelo-Crawford event, where he battled Argentina’s Lester Martinez in a thrilling 10-round fight that ended in a split draw and was widely considered one of the year’s best bouts.

Even with the draw, Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs) cemented himself as a leading contender. Alvarez, meanwhile, is set to fulfill the third fight of his multi-bout agreement with Turki Alalshikh and the Saudi Entertainment Authority, which is why the matchup is scheduled for Riyadh.

Alvarez's previous fight with Scull turned out to be a dull, uneventful bout, in which Scull spent most of the 12 rounds circling the ring, avoiding exchanges, and throwing very few punches.

Alvarez also made no secret after the bout that the 6 a.m. local start time, along with the adjustments to his training schedule, sleep routine and body clock, negatively impacted him. And, it seems to make it debatable that he would agree to those conditions again.

Now 35 years old and nearing 70 professional bouts, Alvarez knows he does not have many fights remaining in his career. Still, he is determined to prove he can continue competing at the highest level of the sport.

Canelo and Mbilli will be part of a news conference later this week in Giza, Egypt to announce more specifics of their showdown around the excitement of unified three belt heavyweight champ Oleksandr Usyk defending his titles against kickboxer Rico Verhoeven in the pay per view main event there.

Canelo will also be in attendance for fight night on Saturday, as well, and we'll find out if he's going to be fine with whenever Alashikh and the Saudis want him to fight or if they are adjusting the start time?